


Saving the World, One Injured Trainer at a Time

by Tavriel



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Developing Relationship, F/M, healer moon, hurt gladion, hurt pokemon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 22:36:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 54,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21327802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tavriel/pseuds/Tavriel
Summary: Gladion keeps getting injured. Moon is there to patch him up.
Relationships: Gladio | Gladion/Moon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing Lonashipping, but I was inspired by the wonderful fic Healing Wounds, by Frozenleaf. I used the idea of Moon being a healer from them. Events are more or less canon compliant, although I have take liberties and jumped around with the timeline.

Moon stares at her notebook. Her friend Erika had given it to her as a parting gift before she moved, telling her to fill it up with entries on Alola's plants and pokemon. Moon would like to do that, would like to explore Alola and see all that it has to offer. Her window is open and a warm breeze tinged with sea air drifts through. Sometimes Moon thinks she might like Alola.

But as Moon rummages through the boxes in search of her stuff, she thinks that she might not like Alola after all. Her room doesn't feel like home. Her bed isn't in the right place and she doesn't have her garden. She's a stranger here, with no one but her mother and her Meowth. Suddenly Moon longs for the familiarity of her room and for home, but she can't do anything about that. And what would she say, anyway? Mom had thought that it would be a good idea to move to Alola to get a fresh start and the job offer was too good to pass up. Her mom had lost her husband; she didn't need to worry about Moon as well.

So Moon attempts to unpack her room, although she gets distracted when she finds her field guides in one of the boxes. The guides had listed all the plant life in the Kanto region. Moon had added her own notes in the margins before she realized attempting to shrink her handwriting to fit into the margins was stupid and instead bought her own notebook so she could record her own observations, theories and experiments.

Moon curls up with the books, remembering now that Alola has a different climate than Kanto. She's heard that there were Kanto pokemon here, but due to the environment, they might have different abilities. Suddenly the world feels wider to Moon. She feels like she does when she sees the stars and moon, that she has a great destiny and she wants to run and run beyond everything she knows. Those are the times when she got it into her head to do experiments. Moon doesn't stop to think. She grabs her bag and climbs out the window.

As Moon breathes in the air, she feels her worries slipping away. So what if her bed isn't in the right place? So what if she didn't know anybody? She could make friends. She hadn't known anybody when she started school and she'd managed to make friends. Speaking of friends, she needs to write to Erika. Moon keeps an eye out, taking in the sights of the Pokemon and wishing she brought a camera with her.

So far Moon has just seen Caterpie, which comforts her because they have those back in Kanto and it's nice to see something familiar, even if Caterpie isn't her favorite Pokemon. But Moon has wondered if Caterpie's string can be used as bandages, and she knows that Butterfree secretes a poisonous powder when it flaps its wings and that can be useful. So Moon approaches Caterpie, keeping her steps light and trying to project a non-threatening aura. She isn't really sure what she's going to do- she isn't a trainer, so she doesn't have pokeballs. Maybe she'll simply ask Caterpie if it wants to come with her. It had worked well enough in Kanto. 

But before Moon can work up her sales pitch, a scream rents the air and Caterpie scampers off. Moon whirls around, her heart hammering, but all she can see is rustling grass. Moon wonders if she imagined it or if the scream was simply a child playing because they like to scream and Moon hasn't always been able to distinguish from a happy scream to fear or pain filled scream.

The scream sounds again, followed by a screech. Before Moon can talk herself out of it, she's running, stumbling past statues and logs. She hears a screech again and as she runs forward she see a bunch of Spearow. They screech again and dive. Moon can see a glimpse of white underneath a flurry of wings and talons. This isn't good. Moon doesn't have any Pokemon. But someone is being attacked and no one else is around, so Moon charges forward with a yell, waving and flapping her arms.

Talons rake across her cheek and her mouth is promptly stuffed full of feathers. She can't see, but she claws and punches until the Spearow back off. Stretching her arms out wide, she stares at the Spearow as she tries to remember anything useful about their behavior. Moon remembers that they're territorial and figures the person they're attacking intruded. Carefully, without taking her eyes off the Spearow, Moon bends down and picks up a rock. She murmurs to the person softly, “Take my hand. We're going to walk backwards until we get out of their territory.”

A hand grasps hers. A voice whispers in her ear. “I'm scared.” 

“I know.” Moon's heart is thudding. They're outnumbered. Horrible visions of their eyes being pecked out runs through Moon's mind, but she pushes it aside. That won't do any good. She's scared, but the other person is scared too, so Moon will be brave for them both. It's really no different than when she deals with an injured Pokemon. Moon squeezes the hand reassuringly and begins walking backwards. The person shuffles backward as well, their grip a vice. Moon is suddenly reminded of the tale of Orpheus, and how he had to leave the Underworld with his wife and not look back at her. The Spearow make no move to attack. Every instinct in Moon screams to run, but that wouldn't be smart. So she walks backward calmly, murmuring to her companion, “That's it, you're doing great.”

Finally, finally they're clear of the Spearow. Moon turns to look at the person. She sees that it's a girl about her age, with long blonde hair and pale skin. She's dressed in a white wide brimmed hat and a white dress that seems impractical for taking a walk outside. She reminds Moon of a porcelain doll. She clutches something protectively to her chest. Her eyes are wide and glazed with panic. “Are you okay?” Moon asks. 

The girl says nothing, just shudders and clutches the thing more closely to her. Moon wants to move closer, but she doesn't want to come across as a threat. “Is that a pokemon? Does it need help?” Then Moon notices the scratches on the girl's arms and makes a decision. “You're hurt,” she says. “I've got medicine back at my house. I can patch you up.” The girl is still trembling and Moon thinks it might be shock. She tries a smile. “Don't worry. I make really good medicine. And I'm not a murderer or anything.” The girl doesn't say anything and Moon laughs awkwardly. Still, the girl follows Moon back to her house.

There's a note taped to the door. “Went to get groceries, Mooncake. Love mom.” Moon apologizes for the mess as she searches for the medicines, which she locates soon enough. Those had gotten priority unpacking. Suddenly a floating purple cloud thing is floating in front of Moon's face.

“Nebby!” The girl exclaims. “What did I tell you about being careful?” Nebby ignores her and floats around happily. Moon can see the moment when its energy begins to flag and moves forward to catch it, cradling it gently. She holds its head up and has it sip from a vial of a potion meant to restore energy. Then she reaches for the salve and turns to the girl.

“I'll take care of you now,” she says. “The cuts aren't deep, but I don't want them getting infected.” 

The girl reaches out to touch Moon's face. “You're hurt, too.” 

Moon waves off the concern. “Not the first time I've been injured.” But the girl stares sadly at Moon's face as Moon bandages her up. “You wouldn't have gotten hurt if it wasn't for me,” she said softly. 

Moon rolls her eyes. “I don't recall you lunging at me with knives, so I don't see how this is your fault.” 

But the girl isn't to be placated. “You got hurt because you jumped in front of me. Why did you do it?” Moon shrugs. The girl needed help and no one else was around. That was all there was to it, and she said as much. The girl looks at her warily, like she really can't believe it, and Moon wants to tell her there are people in the world who would look out for each other. “I jumped in front of Spearow for you, and I still don't know your name,” Moon says. 

The girl's eyes widen and she's suddenly up and bowing. “Oh! Please forgive my bad manners. You saved me and Nebby and treated our wounds and I haven't even said thank you. You must think me terribly rude.” 

Moon waves away the apology. “No, it's totally fine. But you can at least tell me your name, or I'm going to refer to you as the girl I saved from the spearow.” The girl smiles a bit and says her name is Lillie. Moon turns her attention towards Nebby. “I've never seen a Pokemon like that,” she says. “Is it from Alola?” 

Moon sees Lillie's face shut down. “No, Nebby's not from Alola. It's from far away. And I don't mean to impose on you after you've done so much, but can you please not tell anyone about Nebby?” Moon wonders what she's gotten herself into, but shakes it off. She turns to Nebby. “So you're from far away, aren't you Nebby? Looks like we have something in common. I'm from far away as well.”

Lillie looks at her. “Oh? Where are you from?” 

“Kanto,” Moon replies. “My mom and I just moved here.” 

“It must be lonely. If you wanted, I'd be more than happy to show you around,”Lillie offers. Moon nods. She had been a little worried about making friends, but now it seemed her worries had been for nothing. 

“What was Kanto like?” Lillie asks. “Do you miss it?” Moon tells her that she misses Kanto, and describes it as best as she can. She's still talking when she hears the key in the lock and her mom's voice. As she approaches the door, she can hear a deeper voice and for one wild moment she thinks it's her father, that it was all a mistake and he's not really dead and they'll go back home to Kanto or maybe they'll stay here in Alola but it won't matter because they'll be together.

But when the door swings open, Moon sees that it isn't her father and she knows that it wouldn't be because she'd seen him being lowered into the earth. Still, a wave of disappointment washes over Moon. The stranger is a male with brown skin, a goatee, and apparently a policy against wearing shirts. A lab coat displays a muscular chest. 

“Hello, Mom,” Moon says. Her mom looks at her face and passes the grocery bags into the stranger's hands. She tilts Moon's head back and forth, examining the wounds. Moon puts up with the fussing for a few minutes before moving away. “It's fine, mom,” she says.

“What happens?” her mom demands. “Honestly, we've been here a day and you're already coming home injured.”

“It's not my fault,” Moon protests. Before she can say more, Lillie appears. Her hands are clutching her bag, but she raises her eyes determinedly. “It was my fault,” she says quietly. “I got attacked by Spearow and your daughter intervened.” Then she notices the stranger. “Oh! Professor!' she exclaims. 

Moon looks at the stranger with new interest. “You're a professor?” she asks. 

The stranger laughs. “Professor Kukui at your service. Woo! I see I have you to thank for rescuing my assistant.” 

Moon whirls around to look at Lillie. “You're a Pokemon research assistant! That's so cool! What kind of experiments are you guys doing? Do you do any experiments with natural remedies or antivenom? Have you taken notes comparing Alolan pokemon to Kanto pokemon? I have notes on Kanto pokemon; I can lend them to you as soon as I unpack, but I suppose you already have notes. Do you think you have room for another assistant?”

Professor Kukui chuckles, stopping Moon's babbling. “I'm always happy to have a fellow Pokemon enthusiast. Why don't you stop by the lab tomorrow?” Moon's eyes light up. This is more than she could have dreamed of. She'd wanted to do Pokemon research, but she'd never imagined it happening this quickly. 

Lillie is still staring at the professor in some confusion. “But I don't understand? How did you know I was here?” 

Professor Kukui laughs. “I had no idea you were here. This is just a happy coincidence.” He gestures to Moon's mom. “I was just shopping when I ran into her. She told me about how she and her daughter moved here from Kanto. And the thought of someone being all alone in a new region and not knowing anybody- well, that hit me right here.” He thumps his chest for emphasis. “So I decided to come over and give you an Alola welcome. I was going to invite you to the lab so you could meet Lillie. But I see you've already met her.” Moon thinks about how the professor came over to meet her because he emphasizes with her being alone in a new region and felt more of her doubts slip away.

*  
Lillie comes to get her the next day. She tells Moon she's afraid of Pokemon and isn't a trainer herself. Moon wonders how Lillie helps out with the Professor's research, but decides not to ask. As they approach the lab, Moon can hear yelling. “What's going on?” Moon asks, searching for a weapon. She doesn't want to get into another fight so soon. The encounter with the Spearow had been dumb luck and she doubts her luck will hold a second time.

But Lillie looks exasperated. “It's the Professor,” she sighs. “He believes in hands-on research. He's probably having his Pokemon attack him.” Moon wonders if she has time to go home and get medicine. Lillie opens the door just in time for them to see a dog like Pokemon charge at Professor Kukui and send him flying.

“Woo! That was an awesome tackle,” he exclaims. “Hey, Lillie. Hey, Moon.” Lillie sighs over the mess while Moon holds her hand out for the Pokemon to sniff. “Hey, there,”she coos, and giggles as the Pokemon licks her hand. “What's your name?” 

“That's Rockruff,” Professor Kukui tells her, getting to his feet. Moon notices that he's clutching his side and makes a note to bring medicine and bandages over tomorrow. Moon grabs her notebook and begins writing down all the information the Professor tells her about Rockruff, until he tells her to get outside and explore. Moon hurries off, her notebook clutched in her hand and looking around eagerly.

Moon spends the day watching the Pokemon and observing their habits. She comes into the lab and helps the professor mix up food for the Pokemon when it's time for dinner. The professor invites her to stay for dinner and Moon shares what she learned. She tells them that Inkay seems to emit a flashing light to attract prey, but she's also seen them use the same flashing lights with each other, so maybe it's a form of Pokemon morse code. Moon resolves to watch them some more tomorrow. Maybe she can figure out a way to mimic the flashing lights with a flashlight.

*  
The days settle into a pattern after that. Lillie comes to collect Moon and they walk to the professor's lab. Moon learns that being friends with Lillie is like dealing with a skittish pokemon-get too close and she'll back off. So even though Moon would like to ask Lillie about herself, she doesn't. Instead she talks about the pokemon she's seen and the types of remedies that can be made. Sometimes, though, Lillie will let something slip, like when she accidentally reveals that she's staying with the professor. Moon wonders about that, wonders why Lillie isn't with her parents because Lillie hasn't struck her as the type to go on a Pokemon journey. But Lillie is curled into herself, so Moon asks her about her books and sees her visibly relax. She wishes Lillie would confide in her, but they haven't been friends for long and Moon doesn't have the right to pry.

Professor Kukui's habits rub off on Moon and she's soon having venomous Pokemon attack her so she can get a better idea of the effects and so she can build up a resistance to it. Lillie scolds and frets as Moon lays paralyzed because of stun spore, but Moon thinks it's worth it. She learns how long stun spore can last against some her size and takes notes on how long it can last against the professor's size. She brews different remedies until she can find one that's the most effective. She writes Erika to tell her about them and Erika writes back with the news of her latest challengers and her latest perfumes. 

Moon begins to explore other areas as well. Her favorite area is the Melemele meadows. She spends hours sketching the flowers and gathering them up to make perfume. She gathers nectar to use in her potions. She discovers that the leaves on a Petilil can be boiled to make a potion that restores vigor, although the bitter taste lingers for days. Still, Moon feels like she can run marathons, so a bitter aftertaste is a small price to pay.

But still, Moon can't help looking out her window at night, wondering about the other islands. She thinks about the Pokemon and plants there and wonders if the islands are very different from each other. She imagines that they are. There are such stark differences between Alola and Kanto-like how Vulpix in Alola are ice type and Vulpix in Kanto are fire type. Moon promises herself that she'll see the rest of Alola one day. Maybe one day she'll back to Kanto and explore.

*  
Her opportunity to travels come soon enough. Moon is taking soil samples. She's noticed that the mushrooms on Paras's back don't grow as well here as they do in Kanto. Moon thinks that it might have something to do with the soil. She's planning on writing to Erika to ask her to test the soil back home. Moon is so caught up in her research that she doesn't notice the Professor and Lillie approaching until Lillie speaks. “How are you today, Moon?” she asks.

“I'm fine,” Moon answers, too caught up in examining the mushrooms to look at them. They might not be as big as the ones on Paras back home, but they can still be used to make medicine. After a moment, Moon realizes that she's being rude and turns to look at them. “Did you guys need something?” 

Lillie plucks at the bag's strap. Moon counts down the seconds until Nebby emerges from its hiding spot. Moon waits for Lillie to finish scolding Nebby before repeating her question. Professor Kukui looks at her. “It's been really great having you as my assistant, Moon.” He turns to Lillie. “Not that you aren't doing a bang up job of being my assistant as well, Lillie. In fact, I'm the luckiest professor ever, having two smart and amazing assistants.” 

But Lillie is shaking her head. “Moon is the better assistant. I don't do anything useful.” Moon frowns at this. Sure, Lillie might not be a trainer or interact with Pokemon much, but she does keep Moon company and frets over her and the Professor. And there's the way she frets over Nebby. Moon wonders how Lillie can think she's not useful, and figures it's because her help isn't flashy. But Lillie is the one to come out with snacks when she thinks she and the Professor are neglecting their health, and she listens to Moon babble about her experiments.

“I can show you how to mix up remedies,” Moon offers. “If you don't like working with Pokemon, there are plenty of plants I can show you.” 

Lillie's eyes widen and she clasps her hands. “Oh, would you? Thank you so much! I'd feel so much better if I was doing something useful. Speaking of, Moon, the professor and I came over here to ask you a question.” 

Moon gestures for them to go on. The professor takes over. “Like I was saying, Moon, you really are a rock star assistant. But I get the feeling you're getting the urge to travel. And that's awesome! There's a whole wide world out there filled with new things to discover. Just the other day we discovered a new species of Pokemon. So I was thinking you'd do a little traveling for me. See me, I'm all about the offensive, but you like your remedies. I never really bothered with them much-” he's interrupted by a snort from Lillie who immediately claps her hand over her mouth.

Professor Kukui doesn't lose steam. “So I was thinking you'd explore Alola and learn about different remedies. The Kahuna's grandson is starting out on his island challenge and he can travel with you guys for a bit. The more the merrier, after all.” 

Moon blinks. There's a whole wide world she'd love to explore, but she's not a trainer. She has a vague idea of how to battle, since she's watched Erica battle a few times and has even battled her once or twice, but she's never had her own Pokemon.

And Moon has never been away from her parents before. She knows it's pathetic, that kids younger than her go on Pokemon journeys, but although Moon wants to explore the world, she hasn't wanted to leave her parents. Besides, she doesn't feel like having Pokemon battles, although when she watches Erica fight, she usually changes her mind. It's not that she's opposed to Pokemon battling; she just prefers healing. There are so many natural remedies out there and people don't know about them. Moon wants to discover them all.

Lillie comes over for dinner. They sit in Moon's room while her mom cooks. “Do you not want to go?” Lillie asks. 

Moon shrugs. “No, I want to. I think learning about different remedies sounds amazing. It's just-I'm not a trainer.”

“The Kahuna's grandson will be traveling with us for a bit,” Lillie points out. “And not being a trainer didn't bother you when you jumped in front of Spearow for me.” 

Moon tosses a pillow at her. “Next time I'll make sure to let them peck your eyes out. And I've also never been away from home before.” 

Lillie reaches over to squeeze Moon's hand. “I was so scared when I left home. I had no idea what to pack. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't run into the Professor.” Moon imagines faceless thugs taking advantage of Lillie and shudders. Lillie projects an aura of vulnerability and although Moon suspects that there's a core of steel inside her, people would see Lillie as an easy target. “But I'll be with you if you do decide to go on this journey. You won't be alone.” 

Moon stares at Lillie in surprise. “You'll go along as well?” 

Lillie fidgets. “I-uh- I actually have an ulterior motive for this. You know how Nebby isn't from around here, right? And Nebby saved my life once, so I thought helping them get back home would be the least I can do. I'm not a trainer, but I figure even I can do that. I was hoping you'd help me. I know I have no right to ask that of you, but...”

“No, I'll help,” Moon says and Lillie looks shocked. Moon thinks about how Lillie wants to help Nebby get home, even though she isn't a trainer. But Lillie is going to do her best to help her friend. Moon wishes Lillie was able to see that quality in herself, wishes she has the words to explain it, but she doesn't. Instead she lays a hand on top of Lillie's. “You're braver than you think you are, Lillie.” Then before Lillie can protest that she isn't, Moon is standing up. “How about a gardening lesson? I can show you how to grow plants that are good for all kinds of injuries.”

Lillie agrees. Moon notices she's wearing the white dress and hat and frowns. The hat makes sense since it is hot outside and she supposes wearing white would make sense since it is hot and you're supposed to wear light colored clothes when it's hot, but this dress is a dress for church picnics and birthday parties, not gardening. But Moon doesn't want to hurt Lillie's feelings. Still, she offers to loan Lillie something to wear. Lillie glances down at her dress and an uncharacteristic scowl crosses her face. “I don't mind if this dress gets dirty,” she declares, and marches out to the garden.

Lillie sits defiantly in the dirt. Moon wonders at this for a minute and decides not to ask. She wonders if she's being a bad friend by not asking Lillie what was wrong. She thought she was giving Lillie space, but what if she's really giving Lillie the impression that she doesn't care about her problems? She has to fix that. Moon speaks hesitantly. “Lillie, I know we haven't known each other for very long. But if you ever want to talk, I'll listen.” 

“Thank you, Moon. I appreciate the offer. But I have nothing I wish to discuss right now.” Moon thinks that maybe she should pry, but people do have a right to their privacy. Instead she tells Lillie all about the plants. “One thing I miss about Kanto is Gloom. Their saliva made excellent fertilizer but man did they stink. Did you know that Gloom can secrete an odor that's so nasty it can cause people to faint from miles away?”

Lillie's eyes widen. “Really? Then how does anyone get near it?” 

“They only secrete the odor when they're being threatened. My best friend has a Gloom and I've never had any trouble being near it.” Moon teaches Lillie about the plants, watching Lillie's brows furrow as she concentrates. She hopes teaching her this skill will give her self-confidence, and if nothing else, it never hurts to be prepared.

At dinner, Moon picks at her food until her mom asks her what's wrong. 

Moon sighs. “Professor Kukui asked me to travel around Alola.”

Her mom looks surprised. “For the island challenge? I thought you wouldn't have been interested.” 

Moon shakes her head. “No, I'm not. But he wants me to research natural remedies.” She falls silent and goes back to picking at her plate. She wonders if she shouldn't have said anything. People going on pokemon journeys and traveling around the region wasn't a rare thing, but Moon had never wanted to go. She wondered if her mom would be upset with her. 

“Do you want to go?” her mom asks. Moon tries to read her face so she can give the best answer until her mom tells her to just be honest. Moon pauses a minute and then nods. “I'd like to go. There's so much I haven't seen. But I don't want to leave you.”

Her mom laughs. “You'll have to leave me eventually. And this is a great opportunity for you.” 

“So you won't be lonely?” Moon asks.

“It's not your job to worry about me. Your job is to go out and see the world and make new friends, and I'll be here to welcome you home.” Moon feels like she can breathe easier now. Her mom helps her pack, but Moon still needs a few things, so she arranges to go into Hau'oli city with Lillie and the Kahuna's grandson tomorrow.

*  
Hau is energetic. He's constantly jumping around and cheering and Moon feels exhausted just looking at him. But she likes him. He makes her and Lillie feel welcome immediately and drags them off for one of his favorite snacks when Moon admits that she never tried it. She snaps pictures of the city so she can send them to Erica and insists that Hau and Lillie pose with her so she can show Erica her new friends. Hau's grin could almost break his face, but Lillie grins shyly, like she's scared she's going to be scolded. After that, Lillie says she wants to show Moon a shop and Hau is a typical guy who doesn't want to be around girls shopping, so he leaves on an errand. 

Moon and Lillie are ambling along when Lillie stops.

“Moon, may I ask you a question?” 

“Sure. You don't have to be so formal. We're friends-you can ask me stuff.” The shock on Lillie's face when Moon says that they're friends almost breaks Moon's heart. It reminds her of the hurt pokemon she used to work with back home. After a minute, Lillie gathers herself. “You pick out your own clothes, don't you?” 

Moon doesn't answer for a minute. Is Lillie trying to say that she looks bad? Moon's fingers go to touch her hat. It's red and shaped like a flower. It isn't a very pretty hat, but it was her favorite. “Yes,” she says at last. 

Lillie laughs nervously. “Yes, most people do, don't they?” She plucks at the hem of her skirt. “These clothes aren't really me, but my mom picked them out. I know I'm too old for my mom to pick out my clothes, but my mom isn't really someone you can say no to.” There's something in Lillie's eyes that tells Moon there's more to the story, but she knows not to ask. Instead she pulls Lillie into a store saying, “Why don't we see what clothes are your style, then?” 

Lillie hovers over the clothes like she's afraid she'll get in trouble or like she's about to engage in a secret drug deal. “Come on,vogue!” Moon cries, and begins to mimic the dance she's seen on television before. She's rewarded with a giggle from Lillie and considers that an accomplishment. Lillie relaxes enough to buy a shirt When they get back to the lab, there's another surprise waiting for Moon. Professor Kukui insists that she have a pokemon and offers her one of the starters.

Moon's heart thuds. She's never had a pokemon before. Sure, she's bandaged them up and helped Erika train them, but to have her own pokemon? Moon doesn't know which one to pick. She stares at the starters for a few minutes before finally settling on Litten. Litten allows her to stroke his head once before hissing at her. Moon lets out a chuckle. “So you're going to be like that, huh?” she says. She knows that with some pokemon you can't pile on the affection. You have to wait for them to come to you.

That night, Moon lets Litten out of his pokeball and allows him to explore her room. She keeps up a steady stream of chatter as she gets ready for the journey ahead. Her mom makes her her favorite meal as a goodbye present and Moon tries to go to sleep early, but she's too busy imagining what lies ahead. The next morning, Moon makes sure she has all her remedies ready for the journey. She asks her mom to stop by Professor Kukui's lab and make sure he doesn't kill himself. Her mom hugs her fiercely and Moon grabs her back and thinks that maybe this is a mistake, but then her mom is shoving her away and telling her to have an adventure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention that I aged everyone up to teenagers.

Moon watches as Litten laps at a bowl of Miltank milk. They're at Paniola ranch and Moon is sitting in the pokemon nursery, taking notes on the properties of Miltank milk. She's already stocked up on a few bottles for the journey. Litten glances up suddenly and Moon smiles and waves, but doesn't go over to Litten. If he wants to be petted, he'll come over. This is the first time Moon has been alone on the journey. Lillie is at the Tide Song Hotel and Hau is out training for one of his trials. Moon puts aside her notes and stands up, stretching. She tells the lady at the nursery that she's going to look for Hau and waits a moment to see if Litten will follow. He doesn't so Moon goes off on her own.

Moon finds Hau speaking to another boy their age. He has pale blond hair and is dressed in a black and red hoodie. Moon comes up in time to hear the stranger ask if Hau is really taking this seriously. Apparently he doesn't think Hau is taking it seriously enough, judging by the scowl on his face and Moon wonders if he thinks that if you're having fun you aren't taking anything seriously. Then she shakes her head. She doesn't know the guy, so she shouldn't make any judgments.

Hau turns to her with a grin. “Hey, Moon!” he greets her. “This guy is plenty scary!” The guy focuses on her suddenly. “So you're Moon,” he says.

“Yes, that's me!” Moon says cheerfully and the guy scowls at her. 

“You have no sense of self-preservation. Why would you give your name to a complete stranger?” he demands. If Moon thought it would do any good she'd point out that Hau had just called her Moon right in front of him, so it would be kind of stupid to pretend that wasn't her, but she keeps silent. “I'm Gladion,” the guy continues and Moon thinks to herself, what happened to not giving a complete stranger your name? but she doubts Gladion will appreciate it. He tells her that he battles for his partner, Null, to make it strong, but most of his time is taken up doing errands for Team Skull.

At the mention of Team Skull, Moon takes a step back in surprise. She's encountered Team Skull before and she still can't believe she wasn't on some sort of prankster show. She can't imagine Gladion swaggering around and throwing around gang signs and saying, “Yo.” But Moon has seen enough cartoons to know that for every bumbling and overdramatic villain, there's a straight man sidekick. But Team Skull are technically criminals, so Moon wonders if maybe she should be doing something like a citizen's arrest.

“Battle me,” Gladion demands. “I won't take no for an answer.” Moon freezes for a moment. It's not that she's never been in a Pokemon battle, but the aura Gladion is giving off scares her a bit. Then she remembers that Litten is back at the ranch. “I left my pokemon back at the ranch,” Moon tells him. “Maybe next time.”

“So, you decided to wander around without any pokemon,” Gladion sneers. Somehow he manages to sneer coldly. “You really do have no survival instincts at all, do you?” A flash of hurt goes through Moon, but she brushes it aside. If she can deal with pokemon lashing out in pain and attacking her, she can deal with a rude guy. “Well, maybe next time,” Moon says, waving. She gives Gladion a smile and turns to leave. Gladion may have been rude, but that's no reason for Moon to sink to his level.

Gladion surprises her. “That's fine. We can get your pokemon from the ranch and battle there.” Moon wonders what Gladion will do if she says no. Maybe he'll follow her around and keep bothering her to battle until she says yes to make him go away. Moon shrugs and turns to go back. “ You remind me of an Arbok. Did you know that Arbok is really vengeful? It won't give up the chase no matter how far. It sounds like Captain Ahab in Moby Dick. Have you ever read that book? I haven't, but I know the story. Isn't it funny how stories get so famous you already know about them even if you haven't read them?” 

Gladion grunts.

“I didn't know that about Arbok,” Hau says, and Moon continues.

“Oh, yeah, Arbok won't give up the chase for anything. I also heard that you can cut off any part of its body except the head and it'll grow back, but I haven't had time to test it. So far I've just been milking Arbok so I can get the venom to make antivenom. There are a lot of Ekans and Arbok near my house and I figure having cures for their bites would be a good idea.”

They return to the ranch and Moon calls for Litten. “He wants to battle you,” she tells Litten, gesturing at Gladion. “You up for it?” Litten considers it for a moment and then moves to stand at Moon's side. Moon flashes a smile at Gladion. “Ready when you are!” she chirps.

Gladion clenches his fists. His entire body is taut like a bowstring and Moon wonders at that. She can understand being intense, but this is something else. Gladion calls out a Zubat and Moon squees before she can help herself. “You have a Zubat!”she exclaims. “They used to be everywhere in the caves back in Kanto. Have you ever been poisoned by one? I got poisoned by one so I could see how potent the poison is. Did you know that when it evolves into Golbat its fangs will be so sharp that it can suck prey's blood and they won't know it's there? Can you imagine?”

Gladion cuts her off. “I don't care about your babbling. Stop stalling and let's battle!” Another pang of hurt goes through Moon and she pushes it aside, ordering Litten to attack. Litten attacks with Bite and sends Zubat flying, which surprises Moon since Zubat is only damaged normally with Dark type moves. But Moon isn't going to question her luck, ordering Litten to finish it off with Ember while its down. Moon's heart is pounding. She's forgotten how much fun it can be to have a pokemon battle, to go toe to toe with an opponent.

Now Gladion sends out Type: Null. She's never seen that Pokemon before. “Rotom says he doesn't have any information on that Pokemon,” Hau murmurs beside Moon and Moon's interest sharpens. How is that possible? Is Null an undiscovered pokemon? Moon wonders if Gladion will answer her questions. Type: Null fights viciously. Litten barely has a chance to orient himself before Type: Null is lunging at him. Litten can barely dodge the attacks. Moon desperately orders Litten to attack, but his moves barely damage Type: Null. Moon's heart thuds as she watches Litten struggle to get up. This is enough. “Stop!” she yells. “I surrender!” 

She rushes over to Litten and stands over him protectively. Gladion recalls Type: Null, his face expressionless. “That was a waste of time. Your Pokemon is weak. I need to fight stronger opponents.” 

Moon is busy checking over Litten. He seems fine-nothing a nice long rest and a rejuvenating potion can't cure. She wants to dispute Gladion's claims, but Moon isn't a trainer. She doesn't train her pokemon to battle. Whatever retort Moon has on her lips as a mocking voice calls out, “Aw, look at you, little Gladion. Aren't you just a real cool guy?” 

Moon groans internally as two Team Skull members saunter into view. It's not that she thinks they're a threat, but she really isn't in the mood to deal with their stupidity. She watches as they actually pose in front of her and wonders how she's supposed to take them seriously.

The grunt continues talking. “I guess it's no surprise that a homeless kid would turn out to be spineless.” Moon looks at Gladion in shock. No one her age should be homeless. Then indignation shoots through her because what kind of jerks go around taunting people for being homeless? Gladion doesn't show any visible reaction, but Moon still steps forward anyway, although she isn't sure what she's going to do.

But Gladion speaks. His voice is calm as he tells them, “Give it up. You can't beat me. You'll just get your pokemon hurt for no reason. They're good pokemon.” Moon's opinion of him rises. Gladion may be a bit blunt, but any one who didn't want to hurt pokemon unnecessarily couldn't be a bad person. The grunts leave, but not before offering a parting shot to Gladion, telling him that he isn't a part of Team Skull. Moon wants to go to him, but what would she say? In the end, Gladion just walks off and Moon stares after him, wishing she could help him but knowing that she can't.  
*  
Moon runs into Gladion a few days later. She's by route six and searching in vain for an Eevee because she's heard that the Lush Jungle has a stone that can make Eevee evolve into Leafeon and she thinks it would be nice to have a Leafeon. Unfortunately, Eevee rarely makes an appearance, but Moon puts the time to good use. Remembering what Gladion has told her, she has Litten battle the Pokemon. She writes down notes on the Pokemon she sees, like the Alolan Rattata. She can understand pokemon evolving to have certain traits to best suit their environment, but why would Alolan Rattatas be dark type here?

She's too busy looking for useful plants and thinking about Pokemon evolution to pay attention to where she's going. Moon nearly trips over Gladion. “Watch it,” he snarls. Moon opens her mouth to apologize and notices that he's hunched over something. As Moon leans closer, she sees that it's his Zubat. Zubat lies limply and Moon's instinct takes over. She takes a moment to be glad that she always has a pack of medical supplies with her.

“Is Zubat okay?” Moon asks. “Have you been training hard today?” Gladion hunches over Zubat even more. “Zubat's fine,” he snaps. “We don't need your help.” Moon has dealt with enough skittish Pokemon to know what to do. She moves back and quietly begins taking out supplies while waiting for Gladion to speak. His voice is halting. “We- we weren't training. We were going to, but then Zubat just fainted.” 

Moon hums. “Have you been battling with Zubat before today? Like, in the daytime?” 

Gladion glares at her. “Why do you care when Zubat and I have been battling?” 

Moon finds what she needs and looks at Gladion. “Zubat are weak against the sun. Being exposed too much can cause them to become sick.” Gladion looks at her, his eyes pained. “I didn't know,” he murmurs. 

“Of course you didn't,” Moon tells him. She meant for it to sound reassuring, but she thinks it might sound condescending. She looks to Gladion for permission. He doesn't say anything, but he does move back and allow Moon to move closer to Zubat. Moon keeps her voice low, murmuring reassurances as she feeds Zubat medicine. 

“Zubat should be fine now,” Moon says. “But here's some extra medicine just in case. I guess you can train at night or in the evenings, but I did hear that Zubat that have trainers can build up a resistance against the sun, like people who ingest poison so they can build up a resistance.” That last part sounds really redundant.

Gladion doesn't say anything, but Moon isn't expecting it. She turns to go, but stops as Gladion calls out for her to wait. Moon turns, wondering if Gladion is going to thank her. He doesn't. He doesn't look at her as he speaks. “You need to train your Pokemon more.” 

Moon blinks. Gladion continues. “There are dangerous people out there. It's not safe for you to wander around with only one half-trained Pokemon.” He walks off before Moon can think of a retort. She figures that if Gladion had teleportation powers, he'd say something cryptic and then vanish the second a person looked away. She giggles at the thought. It's sweet of him to worry about her protection, and he isn't wrong. Moon resolves to train harder so she and her Pokemon can give a better account of themselves in their next battle against Gladion. Then Moon shakes her head. She shouldn't worry about what Gladion thinks.

*  
Moon could live in the Lush Jungle. Maybe that's what she'll do. Maybe she'll build a tree house and just spend the rest of her life there. Even though Moon isn't taking the challenge, Mallow allows her to forage while they wait for Hau to get the items Mallow needs. So far Moon has found revival herbs, which is a stroke of good fortune. Mallow watches her as she works. “Are you a grass trainer?” she asks cheerfully. “You have that look about you.”

“What look?” Moon asks, as she inspects the soil. She should compare the soil in different regions of Alola. Before she can forget the idea, Moon scribbles it down in her notebook. Mallow waves a hand. “Oh, you know. Dirt under your nails, digging around in the dirt.” 

“So dirty?” Moon asks with a grin. “Because my best friend is a grass trainer, and let me tell you, if you make an insinuation like that to her face...”

“No, not dirty. Not afraid to get down and dirty.” 

“I'm not really a trainer,” Moon says. “I just do Pokemon medicine.” Mallow draws Moon into an enthusiastic conversation about the properties of plants that eventually leads into a conversation about cooking. She says that a lot of plants are edible, but people don't really know it. She invites Moon to come over to her family's restaurant and Moon agrees. 

Hau shows up with the items Mallow needs and Moon watches in anticipation as the Totem pokemon appears. Thankfully, Moon has never been struck by lightning, but she imagines that this feeling- the feeling of the hairs rising in the back of her neck and the sense of danger is what it would be like. Hau loses to Lurantis. He lands good enough hits, but the problem is that Lurantis knows Synthesis. In the end, Hau's pokemon succumb to exhaustion and he loses the battle. He laughs it off, but Moon can see the look in his eyes. She gives Hau potions for his Pokemon and suggests they go out for masalada. Hau declines the offer and Moon sets off to explore the jungle. She's managed to catch an Eevee and now she just has to find the stone and she can get her Leafeon.

Moon also wants to get a Comfey. Mallow has told Moon that the flowers on Comfey have a healing aroma, so now Moon has to catch one or at least get a photo for Erika. She notices the Paras and uses their mushrooms to make more medicine. It's amazing how much nature provides and how many people don't know about it.

*  
Yesterday has been a good day. Moon has gotten her Leafeon and her Comfey. Comfey has settled around Moon's neck like a lei as she walks around the town. Moon isn't thinking about anything in particular when she hears a commotion. Yet again, Moon runs towards it, but this time she has Pokemon and a supply pack, so she's better prepared. As Moon runs she hopes that  
she won't have to deal with attacking Spearow again.

Unfortunately, Moon's hopes go unanswered. Or maybe that's wrong. What she finds isn't a bunch of attacking Spearow, but it's worse. Moon arrives just in time to see Type: Null lunge at Gladion. Moon screams as the claws make contact with his skin and rushes forward. Gladion is holding his hands out to Type: Null. “It's okay,” he says over and over. “It's okay, Null.” But Type Null doesn't seem to register the words. It attacks over and over, too fast for Moon to think about how to intervene. Gladion is sinking to the ground, clutching his side. Moon can see the blood seeping out.

Moon tries to figure out what to do. Gladion needs help and he needs help now. Moon has to knock Type: Null out, but her Pokemon didn't last against Type: Null the last time, and she doubts they will again. But Moon has a Leafeon now and maybe Leafeon can use Giga Drain against Type: Null. “Can you call Type: Null back to its Pokeball?” Moon asks. Gladion is still coherent enough to give Moon a disdainful look, and she takes it as a good sign. “Don't you think I would have tried that already?”  
Right. “I'm going to try and knock it out,” she tells Gladion.

“Don't hurt it,” he orders. Moon calls out Leafeon and orders him to use Giga Drain. Type: Null stumbles and Moon is able to see the gaping wounds on its flank. Her alarm grows. Type: Null and Gladion need help, now. “Try calling out to it again” Moon suggests. “Maybe your voice will calm it down.”

“Null,” Gladion calls softly. “It's okay. I'm here. I won't let anything hurt you again.” Type: Null shudders and look at Gladion. Moon steps in front of him. She suddenly remembers Comfey and orders her to use Draining Kiss. Moon can see Type: Null growing weaker and she isn't sure if it's succumbing to its wounds or the attacks are working. After a few tense minutes, Type: Null collapses. Moon thinks that's for the best. She turns to Gladion. His face has gone deathly pale and Moon is amazed he hasn't passed out as yet. She assumes he's kept himself conscious out of sheer stubbornness. 

“You need help,” she tells Gladion. “You guys need a Pokemon center.” 

But Gladion is shaking his head. He tries to move, but collapses, panting. “Get away from us,” he bites out. Moon raises her hands. “Gladion, it's fine. You know I'm not going to hurt you.” She keeps her voice soft as she talks. “You guys need help. Please, let me help you.” 

“No Pokemon Center,” Gladion bites out. “It-it's not safe for Null.” There's something soft in his eyes as he looks at his Pokemon. Moon nods. “That's fine,” she agrees. “But you need to let me help you.” 

“I'm staying at the Roadside Motel,” Gladion tells her. He recalls Type: Null and Moon hoists Gladion's arm over her shoulders. They make slow progress to the motel. Gladion is taller than her and his steps drag. But step by steady step, they make it to the motel. “Take care of Null first,” Gladion orders weakly, as Moon deposits him on the bed. He sends Type: Null out of the pokeball. Moon hands Gladion a potion to help with the blood loss and moves towards Type: Null. 

Type: Null has regained consciousness. It snarls, but can't do anything else. Moon thinks about how terrifying it would be to be weak and unable to defend herself. She keeps her voice calm. “It's okay,” she murmurs. “I'm a friend of Gladion's. You saw me, remember? You beat my Litten. But I guess your trainer fights so many opponents that maybe you guys don't remember all of them. I'm going to take care of you and Gladion.” 

She waits until Type: Null relaxes before examining it. The wounds will need stitches, but not life-threatening, so Moon orders Comfey to use floral healing on Type: Null and moves towards Gladion. Moon wonders how Type:Null was injured, but she doubts Gladion will answer, so she focuses on more practical matters. She applies pressure to the wounds until the bleeding stops, and then reaches for the antiseptic. She can see evidence of old wounds on Gladion's body and wonders how often he's had to patch himself up. “This is going to hurt,”she tells Gladion, but he just looks away. 

“Null and I can handle pain,” he says, and something in Moon aches because Gladion and Null are bleeding and Null will need stitches and this isn't the type of pain anyone should be asked to handle. Moon can't fix whatever happened to Gladion and Null in the past, but she can fix their wounds right now. 

Moon makes conversation while she treats Gladion, a habit from when she used to treat injured Pokemon. 

“How's your Zubat?” Moon asks. “Not getting sick again, right?” 

Gladion looks away. “Zubat is fine. What happened was just a temporary set back.” Moon sees how Gladion's face whitens even more as she applies the antiseptic. Part of her hopes he'll pass out to get a respite from the pain.

Gladion startles her by talking again. “What about you? How's your Litten?”

“Fine,” Moon answers, shocked that he's making conversation. But maybe he's only doing that to distract his Pokemon. “I've been training Litten.”

“Good.” Gladion nods. “You're more serious about Pokemon than that other fool.” 

Moon scowls. “Hau isn't a fool,” she snaps. “He just enjoys life.”

“He never takes anything seriously,” Gladion snaps back. 

Moon doesn't know where her anger comes from. She retorts sharply, “Yeah, I guess to you if people aren't wearing a permanent scowl all the time, they aren't taking anything seriously. Heaven forbid people actually enjoy life once in a while.” 

Gladion clenches his fists so hard that Moon worries he'll break the skin. “That's not- you don't understand anything.” Moon doesn't look at him. Stupid jerk. He has such a stick up his ass, she thinks angrily. What does he think will happen if he actually enjoys life once in a while? But as Moon works, her anger drains. Gladion is right. She doesn't understand. She doesn't understand what kind of life Gladion has had. Maybe his attitude is a product of his environment. Maybe he hasn't been allowed to enjoy himself before now. Moon finishes with Gladion and turns to Null. 

“I'm sorry,” she says softly. “You're right, I don't understand. But honestly, you have to find some joy in the world at least once.” She doesn't hear Gladion's answer and instead gets to work on treating Type: Null. It doesn't move as she cleans the wounds and stitches it up, but Moon can see the pain in its eyes. “It wasn't Null's fault,” Gladion speaks suddenly. Moon is too busy to do anything other than let out an inquiring hum. “Null attacking me,” Gladion clarifies. “It wasn't it's fault.” Moon nods. She gives Type: Null a tablet and straightens up.

“I'm not going to ask how you got those scars because I know you won't tell me,” she says. “And I'm going to assume that you'll probably get injured again because you give off fight me vibes like nobody's business. You'll probably be battling more opponents to make yourself stronger, so you and Null will get injured again. And I might not be around next time.”

Moon thinks she hears Gladion mutter, “I should be so lucky,”but doesn't call him on it. She does hear him say, “What's your point?” 

“I'm going to teach you how to make your own medicines,” Moon tells him. “That way you won't need my help. Not today, because you guys need to rest, but tomorrow I'm going to teach you. And don't you even think of saying that you don't need my help. Everyone needs help and there's no shame in that. And honestly, knowing these medicines can save your Pokemon's life, and that's more important than some vague sense of-I don't know.” Moon isn't sure what motivates Gladion to refuse help all the time. She stares Gladion down until he looks away. “If it'll get you out of my hair faster,” he says. “Now get out.” Moon does as he asks, but not before leaving potions with Gladion and Null and giving them strict instructions to drink every four hours.

Moon steps outside and heaves a sigh. She's always wanted to see the world. She thought seeing the world would be like opening a box of chocolates, with many wonderful surprises. But now she's seen a homeless boy with scars lining his body and she doesn't know what to do. She thinks about what her father would say and the answer comes to her. Her father would tell her to do what she can and Moon resolves to do that. She'll help where she can.

Gladion is waiting outside the Pokemon Center the next day. Moon doesn't think she does a good job of hiding her surprise when Gladion shows up. “You're here,” Moon says, and rolls her eyes at herself for making such an obvious statement. 

Gladion shrugs. “I figured that I should learn to make my own medicines so I don't have to listen to your inane babbling.”A flash of hurt goes through Moon. She tells herself to imagine Gladion like a small Pokemon trying to show that it's a badass and the thought makes her giggle and makes her feel slightly better. Still, she doesn't talk as much when she leads Gladion into the forest. She doesn't tell Gladion that Leafeon can generate food through photosynthesis. She doesn't tell Gladion about how Mallow has told her about the Shiinotic and how it battles Parasect over territory. She doesn't tell him that the spores can cause drowsiness and she plans to experiment with them. Instead she collects the spores in silence. Moon knows that she shouldn't take what Gladion says seriously, but she can't get rid of the hurt. Moon tells herself that other people have gone through worse than hearing a tactless statement and she really shouldn't be so upset.

For the most part, Gladion is a good student. He listens to her carefully and Moon knows that if nothing else, he'll take care of his Pokemon. Moon watches as Gladion gathers up the plants that Moon tells him to. She shows him how to find Paras and Parasect and how to use the mushrooms to brew medicine. Eventually Moon thinks Gladion should be okay and tears out a few pages in her notebook. She writes down strict instructions about how to prepare the medicine and turns to go. “Wait,” Gladion calls, and Moon pauses. 

“Let's have a battle next time we meet,” he says. “I want to see if Litten has gotten stronger.” Gladion stands like he's hunched in on himself. Moon sees the invitation as a peace offering and smiles. “Sure,” she says. “I'll look forward to it.” 

*  
Hau manages to defeat Lurantis, but Moon still makes his Pokemon drink the potion made out of Petilil leaves. Comfey has taken to acting as a lei and Moon breathes in deeply. Comfey petals would be great for perfumes or maybe bath oils. She's already sent Erika the photos and Erika had responded by demanding when Moon was going to visit her and bring that gorgeous Pokemon along. Moon laughs and tells Erika that they should combine Comfey and Gloom's talents in the gardens. She wonders how Confey will adapt to a Kanto climate. Then she has another thought. What would happen if an Alolan pokemon went to the Kanto region and stayed there for a length of time? Would the species evolution be different?” Moon wishes Gladion could see the world like this, as something endlessly exciting and with so many questions to be answered.  
*  
The Ruins of Life Lillie is so eager to see is a bust. Boulders block the path and they aren't able to get through. Moon rests a hand on Lillie's shoulder. “We'll figure something out,” she assures her. 

“But I was so sure the Ruins would lead to something!” Lillie cries. “I'm letting Nebby down.” 

“Come on. I'll brew you a cup of tea. I have a special blend for when you're having a total brain block.” 

“Do you really?” Lillie asks. 

Moon nods. “Yes. Lavender for example is meant to soothe, but I just can't drink it in my tea. I've got a mental block. I think it should be used for sniffing and not drinking. Just like how I believe tomatoes have no business being a juice. I know that technically it's a fruit and that fruit juices are popular, but no. Just no. Mint tea is nice, though. It's easy enough to find and it really helps with nausea. But you'd be surprised what a hot meal and drink does for you. We'll have a nice cup of tea and once we relax, the ideas will start pouring in.” 

Lillie leans her head against Moon's shoulder for a minute. Moon squeezes her in a hug. They're interrupted by a frantic voice calling out. Moon hurries forward. “Wait, Moon!” Lillie grasps her arm. “You don't know what's going on!”

“Someone's in trouble! I have to see if I can help. You can stay here if you want.” A determined look crosses Lillie's face. “No, I'm going with you,” she says. “Even though I don't know what help I'll be.” But she sticks close to Moon as Moon locates the source of the screaming. It's a woman. Moon approaches her and presses a tissue into her hands. She speaks gently but firmly and asks what's wrong.

Gasping, the woman says that her son wandered into the forest. Moon thinks that he may have gotten lost and is about to suggest that they form a search party until the woman says tearfully that the forest is haunted and it's unlikely that many people will volunteer.

Lillie notices the look in Moon's eye. “You're going to go into the forest, aren't you?” she says. “Moon, you can't. It's too dangerous.” 

“Yes, and there's a missing child in it. A child is in danger. I have to do something to help.” Moon is going over the supplies she'll need. The child will probably have cuts and bruises. She should also take some Miltank milk because she doubts the child will have eaten. The mother follows her anxiously.

Moon lets Torracat out of his Pokeball. She's willing to bet that the haunted forest are ghost pokemon. Moon isn't sure if she believes in ghosts. Sometimes she does, so she can believe that her father can come visit her. But then she thinks that ghosts usually stick around because they have unfinished business and she'd rather her father be at peace.

“Hey, Torracat,” Moon says. “Want to go on an adventure?” Torracat is part dark, so he will be the perfect counter against ghost type pokemon. Torracat stares at Moon for a minute and begins grooming himself. Moon rolls her eyes fondly and turns to Lillie. “Lillie, can you take care of Torracat for me?” she asks. “And if I'm not back in a few hours, can you gather some people who aren't afraid of ghosts to search for me?” 

Lillie hugs Moon tightly. “Be careful.” She picks Torracat up and walks Moon up to the edge of the forest. A bone-chilling cry pierces the air and Moon jumps back. Lillie turns pale. “Moon, you can't go in there!” she exclaims. Moon thinks she can actually feel her blood turning to ice. She thinks about turning back, but she steels herself. A child is in trouble. 

Moon goes to step into the forest. She has the ridiculous thought that she's about to step into another world. Before she can move, Torracat strolls ahead in front of her, flicking his tail in an impatient gesture to come on. Moon rolls her eyes but follows her Pokemon into the forest. For the most part, it looks like an ordinary forest. Trees tower over her. They're so high Moon can't make out the sky and she feels like she's trapped in the forest. Rather than scare her, the idea comforts her. As a child, whenever she was in the forest, she'd felt as though she was in a cocoon, safe from the world.

The blood-curdling cry sounds again and Moon freezes. She can see flickering shapes out of the corner of her eye. Her heart is beating rapidly. She knows she should move, but she can't make herself move. Dimly she thinks that this is how prey pokemon must feel. A sharp pain brings Moon back to herself and she looks down. Torracat has pierced her with his claws. The pain makes Moon focus, makes her forget that she was afraid. Moon pats Torracat on the head and continues. She tells herself to put one foot in front of the other. That's all she has to do. 

It occurs to Moon that maybe if she follows the noises, she'll find the child. She isn't sure where the idea comes from, except for a vague hope, but she really doesn't have anything else. Moon really should have waited. She should have gotten a description of the child, or maybe taken a pokemon that was good at scenting things out. But she'd rushed into the forest.

Moon continues walking. She checks and double checks her bag. It occurs to her that maybe the child has eaten something poisonous and keeps her eyes peeled. Moon breathes a sigh of relief when she doesn't see anything dangerous. There are some berries that will give someone diarrhea or a stomachache, but nothing that can kill them.

Suddenly a pair of floating red eyes appear in front of Moon. She screams and stumbles back. Before she's even finished screaming, Torracat is lunging forward. He attacks with Bite. Moon hurries over to see what had attacked her and comes face to face with a floating tree stump. It lies unmoving on the ground, but Torrcat stands over it. Moon gets out Rotom and looks at the information. The pokemon is called Phantump and according to Rotom, it's the spirit of a lost child.

Moon's heart goes out to the Phantump. She gets out a few Pokemon treats and holds her hand out to it. Torracat makes a displeased noises, but Moon murmurs to calm him down. She doubts that the Phantump meant any harm. Slowly, the Phantump stirs. It looks warily at Moon, who smiles reassuringly. “It's alright,” Moon says. “I won't hurt you.” 

Phantump drifts over and inspects Moon's hand. Moon doesn't move and waits for Phantump to take bite of the Pokemon treat. It does so, tentatively at first, like it isn't sure it really likes the treat, and then gobbling it up. Moon laughs. “There, now we're friends,” she tells Phantump, and Phantump does a wiggling little dance and vanishes, only to reappear in front of Moon's face. Moon stumbles backward again, but she realizes that Phantump was just playing.

“We're friends,” Moon says. “Do you have any other friends besides me? Can you show me?” Phantump flies off. It's a bit difficult to keep up with Phantump because it likes to disappear and then reappear suddenly. Moon thinks to herself that it would be fun playing hide and seek with Phantump. Phantump leads Moon to a hollow tree. Curled up inside of the tree is a young boy. Twigs and rocks lay scattered at his feet. Phantump grabs another rock and brings it to the boy. Moon's heart twists. The Phantump just wants to play and it doesn't understand about missing children and frantic parents.

Moon approaches the boy. He's pale and shivering, but he looks okay. “Hi,” Moon says. “My name is Moon. I came here to find you. Are you hungry?” The boy doesn't say anything. Moon waits a few moments before repeating her question. Slowly, the boy nodded and Moon gives him the Miltank milk. He makes a pleased noise at it and his eyes light up. Moon turns to Phantump. “Do you want to come with me?” she offers. “We can be friends.” 

So Moon walks out of the forest with a new Pokemon. Her pace is slower because the boy won't let go of her hand and little kids move really, really slowly. Still, Moon's heart soars when they emerge from the forest and the boy sees his mom and he goes dashing into her arms. She's done something good here today.

*  
Phantump's leaves can be brewed to make a cure-all potion. Moon knows that nature is amazing, but even she doesn't think that something can be a cure-all. She finds that the leaves work well against a cold and fever. So far it works well against minor illnesses, but she doesn't know if it will cure major injuries or diseases. Moon has already stopped off at villages without a Pokemon center in the nearby vicinity and distributed her medicines. She wishes that she could do more. 

*  
Moon gets her opportunity to do more when she visits Aether foundation. She can only stare in awe as she's shown around. She can't believe that this is an artificial island. It's so large. Moon looks in wonder at all workers helping the injured Pokemon and thinks to herself, I want to be a part of this. She can make a difference here. There are so many different things she can do-she can help rehabilitate injured Pokemon or maybe do research. The possibilities stretch out before her like an open sky. She can be useful here. Moon spends the rest of the day feeding sick pokemon and wondering if she could be allowed to get a job here. Or if she can't get a job, surely she'd be allowed to volunteer. She feels as though she's been set on the right path, that she's finally found her destiny.

Lillie isn't as enthusiastic. Over dinner, Moon babbles on excitedly. She's never really understood about wanting to jump out of your skin, but now she does. She tells Lillie about how large the Aether foundation is, and how many Pokemon they've saved, and how much research they're doing. She finishes with the question, “Do you think they'd hire me?” At Lillie's frown, Moon hurries on. “No, you're right, they wouldn't. It's too arrogant for me to assume otherwise. I don't know enough yet. But do you think that they might hire volunteers? I helped out at my friend's gym and they had volunteers and a Pokemon school. Honestly, you wouldn't believe what goes into running a gym. People think that it's all Pokemon battles, but that's not the truth.”

“Aether isn't as nice as you think,” Lillie says quietly. Moon looks at her in surprise, because Lillie hasn't even been to Aether, so how would she know? “What do you mean?” Moon asks.

Lillie fidgets. “Nothing. It's just- people who do kind things aren't always kind. Sometimes it's a front.” Moon frowns. Maybe she's just naive, or maybe stupid, but she believes that people can help each other because it's the right thing to do. “You and Gladion are so alike,” Moon huffs. “You both think that any act of kindness has an ulterior motive.”

It saddens her, that Lillie and Gladion have grown up in such a way that they treat an act of kindness with suspicion. She's never regarded an act of kindness than anything other than act of kindness. 

Lillie looks up Moon sharply. “Gladion?” she asks. 

Moon tries to remember if Lillie has met Gladion. “He's a trainer. Blond hair, black and red hoodie. Likes to battle. And frown. Kind of intense.” 

Lillie is frowning. “How did you two meet?”

“Oh, he challenged Hau to a battle. Well, actually, he'd already beaten Hau when I came over, so he challenged me to a battle. Then a day or so later I ran into him again and helped out his Zubat.” Moon doesn't mention the second time she patched Gladion up. 

“You're a good person, Moon,” Lillie says suddenly. Moon shakes her head, because she's no better or worse than the average person. “Anyone would have helped Gladion,” Moon says, and Lillie shakes her head. “Not without wanting something. People don't help others just to help.” 

Moon thinks about saying that that isn't true, but instead asks, “Do you think I helped you because I had an ulterior motive in mind?” 

Lillie's eyes widen. “No, of course not! I know that there are good people out there, like you and Professor Kukui. But not everyone is like you guys. Please, promise me that you will be careful.” Moon wants to tell Lillie that sometimes people can be good because there are good people out there, but she figures Lillie won't believe her. This is probably something that Lillie needs to see for herself. Moon has hope, though. Lillie has met Professor Kukui and she trusts him. And she has said that she trusts Moon. Now if only Gladion can see that there are kind people in the world.

Moon doesn't bring up Aether foundation again. Instead she quizzes Lillie on the uses of certain berries and cheers when Lillie gets it right. She glows at the triumphant gleam in Lillie's eye. Maybe one day Lillie will be able to treat the Pokemon with her, but Moon isn't going to push.

*  
Moon doesn't know how it goes so bad so fast. She and Hau had left Lillie alone while Hau went to complete his ghost trial. Moon had gone along because she thinks it would be a good idea for Phantump to play with some of the ghost pokemon at the trial site. Phantump is a bit too energetic for most of her Pokemon. Leafeon is mellow, but will indulge Phantump and play for a bit, and so will Comfey, but Torracat will just look at Phantump and go back to sleep. 

Once the trial is over, Phantump soars gleefully around with the ghost Pokemon. Moon's heart soars as well to see Phantump so happy. She thinks about how Phantump is supposed to be the spirit of a lost child and hopes that it has found peace. She knows that nothing will make up for being dead, but she hopes Phantump can be happy. 

She and Hau are walking back. As usual, Hau is bouncing around and cheering. Moon is laughing because Hau is walking backwards and he's nearly tripped. Moon has seen movies where people are laughing and they come across a horrible scene and their laughter dies on their lips, but she doesn't think it could be that way in real life. She's wrong.

Team Skull is here. Team Skull is here and they've cornered Lillie and Gladion, who stands protectively in front of Lillie. Moon and Hau rush forward and Moon wonders where Team Skull came from. But she thinks it will be okay. They might be outnumbered, but Gladion and Hau are good trainers and they should be able to take Team Skull in a fight. Moon will help as well and hopefully Lillie will take the opportunity to get away.

But before anyone can make a move, Lillie is moving forward. “No!” she cries. “Please, there is no need to hurt anyone. I'll come with you quietly.” Moon opens her mouth to say Lillie is being ridiculous, that she's not about to let her friend go off with these criminals, but Gladion beats her to it. He tucks Lillie behind him and stands like he's prepared to take on the world. Moon and Hau join him. Moon's palms are sweating. She's not a trainer. She doesn't battle often. She may have been practicing and Team Skull may just be nuisances, but there's something in the air that makes Moon think that Team Skull might mean business.

She's proven right a few moments later. Moon can barely even register what happens. All she knows is that there's a flash of light and Gladion is suddenly flying through the air. Moon blinks, unsure of what happened and then she sees the reason. A Salandit is standing over Gladion, who lays crumpled on the ground. Moon doesn't understand. Oh, her eyes work fine, but she can't make the image make sense. 

“No!” Lillie cries, and moves to dart forward. A Team Skull grunt grabs her arm, not enough to hurt her, but enough to stop her from moving. “Unless you want Salandit to attack again, I suggest you come with us,” he says.

“No, Lillie!” Hau yells. Moon can't believe this is happening. Gladion has been attacked and Lillie is being kidnapped and no matter how much she screams at herself, Moon can't bring herself to move. She has to do something. She has to save Lillie and treat Gladion, but she feels like how weak-willed Pokemon must feel when they look at an Arbok's hood pattern. 

Slowly, as if she's in a dream, Moon moves towards Gladion. Salandit shifts and Moon keeps her hands raised as she goes. “I'm just going to see if he's okay,” Moon says. She has to keep calm. She bends towards Gladion. Salandit is a poison type, so he probably got hit with a poison attack. “Is he okay?” Lillie asks. 

“He'll be fine. I'll take care of him,” Moon assures her. She keeps her voice steady for Lillie's sake. Lillie straightens her spine. “I'm ready now,” she says. She's trembling, but her voice is steady. “Just don't hurt my brother. I'll come with you.” If Moon wasn't preoccupied with checking Gladion's vitals, she might have been shocked by that revelation. But there are more important things to worry about. Moon looks at Lillie. She tries to send all the courage she has to Lillie as she speaks. “Lillie,” Moon says, “we're coming to get you. Just hang in there, okay? I'm going to take care of Gladion and then we're coming to get you.” There aren't any other options. But Moon still trembles as Lillie moves out of sight with Team Skull. Her entire body tells her to run forward, to do something, but Salandit still stands over Gladion and Moon can't do anything because she isn't going to put Gladion's life at risk. Still, Moon clenches her fists until her nails break skin until the Salandit goes after its trainer.

“I can't believe this,” Hau murmurs. He's staring. “They just kidnapped Lillie!” Moon thinks about how scared Lillie must be, but she can't focus on that right now. “I just stood there and let her get taken,” Hau continues. He's right. They both just stood there. Moon and Hau both had Pokemon and they didn't even attack. They could have done something. Moon just doesn't think things like this can happen. She doesn't think that people can order their pokemon to attack others. That's not how the world is supposed to work. Moon takes a deep breath to steady herself. There's work to be done.

“Help me with him,” Moon orders, and together they manage to get Gladion inside. Moon gets to work preparing an antidote. She hears a noise and sees Type: Null has gotten out of the Pokeball. It makes a sad noises at the sight of Gladion. Moon smiles. “Hey, there. Your trainer has gotten hurt again, but I'll take care of him.” As Moon works, she finds herself calming down. The act of treating someone relaxes her. She knows what to do and her body moves of its own accord. Her minds clears and she's able to think.

“Gladion is a member of Team Skull,” Moon says. “I wonder if that means he knows where they would take Lillie. But two of those grunts did mention that he isn't part of Team Skull, so maybe they wouldn't tell him. But we don't really know where Team Skull would have taken her, and Guzma does like him, so maybe he would have told Gladion something useful. I wonder if he joined Team Skull to protect Lillie.”

Hau shakes his head. “I can't believe that Lillie and Gladion are related.” Moon can't believe it, either, but there will be time to think about that later. She finishes preparing the antidote for Gladion and then begins mixing more. She looks through her bag and tries to think of a use for all the items. Moon is in the middle of going through Shiinotic spores and wondering if she can throw them at Team Skull when Gladion stirs. 

There are a few things Moon finds unpleasant- the scent of Gloom, being vomited on, jazz music. But telling Gladion that Lillie has been kidnapped rockets to the top of the list. For a few moments he just stares, his eyes wide. He's trembling and his hands are balled into fists. “Why didn't you do something?” he demands, and Moon feels a fresh wave of guilt. 

“You got attacked by a Pokemon,” Moon says, and her voice sounds weak. But she wasn't going to put Gladion's life and risk. Her voice steadies. “You were attacked and the Pokemon would have attacked you again and I didn't want to take the chance of you getting hurt.” Gladion is still trembling. He looks around wildly. Then he focuses his attention of Hau. “Battle me!” he demands. 

Hau freezes. “What? I'm not going to battle you now!” he exclaims, and Gladion steps forward. Moon gets between him and Hau. “Gladion, you can't battle Hau now. We don't have time for a battle. We need to get Lillie and our Pokemon need to be in top shape while we battle.” Gladion doesn't move, his entire body tense. Moon doesn't break eye contact. “Come on. You can battle Team Skull members.” 

Gladion looks away. “Lillie will be at the Aether foundation,” he says at last. “I'll give you guys a few minutes to prepare. Moon can't believe what she's heard. Surely this must be a mistake. Aether foundation rescues injured pokemon. Why would a group of criminals take Lillie there of all places? But then she remembers Lillie not going with her to Aether and how she's warned Moon to be careful and how she's said that good people aren't always what they seem, and a horrible possibility dawns on her. But Lillie is in trouble now and Moon has to focus on that.

*  
Lillie is safe. That's the only consolation Moon has right now. Lusamine is Lillie's mother and she's gone off on some insane quest involving Ultra Beasts and other worlds. She can't wrap her mind around it. She thinks that she must be dreaming, but looking around proves that she's awake. She looks around and sees the Team Skull grunts and Aether foundation members lying defeated on the ground. She sees the injured Pokemon. She sees the damages to the property-the burn marks, the scattered debris, the holes in the wall, and thinks that this will never be able to get fixed. It can get fixed, Moon thinks, and goes forward to fix what she can.

Moon administers aid to whoever she finds. She works until she doesn't have to think about all that happened. Sooner or later she knows she'll have to think about Lusamine and the Ultra Beasts, but for right now there's only the clean scent of ointment. Moon becomes aware of a shadow standing over her and turns to see Gladion. His face is expressionless. “These people need to be processed,” he says and Moon nods. She wonders what Gladion thinks about her offering aid to Team Skull members and Aether employees. She tries to read his face but can't.

“Come on,” Gladion says. He offers Moon a hand up and Moon takes it even though she doesn't need it. Gladion walks closely to her, not enough to crowd her, but Moon is still reassured by his presence. Lillie runs up to Gladion and throws her arms around him. “You're okay!” she exclaims. “I was so worried.”

Gladion gestures to Moon. “Moon patched me up,” he explains. 

Lillie looks relieved. Then her face falls. “I can't believe mother has done this. She's always been a bit...off since....you know, but I never thought she would do this. She got worse after you left.” 

Gladion looks away, then places a hand on Lillie's shoulder. “I'm sorry,” he says. “I should have been here to protect you.” Lillie shakes her head. “You're here now,” she says. Moon tells them she's going to take another look around, because maybe these scientists will have left some of their research about Ultra Beasts lying around and she figures Lillie and Gladion need to catch up.

*  
Moon wanders through Aether foundation, her footsteps echoing. She doesn't know what she expects to find, but those researchers had mentioned projects, so there might be something useful. As she walks, Moon can't help but think that this is such a waste. Aether has all these resources to help Pokemon and it's all a front for their criminal activities. Moon wonders what will happen to Aether foundation now. The employees are going to be arrested, but the resources can help a lot of Pokemon and they shouldn't go to waste. 

Moon shudders at how cold and sterile the lab is. It's a huge contrast to Professor Kukui's lab. His lab feels welcoming, like a warm fire or a cup of hot chocolate on a cold night. Aether lab feels like a cold wind in winter. Moon goes into labs and looks through the papers. She rifles through them, unsure of what she's looking for, but hoping that something will jump out. The name Cosmog jumps out.

Moon feels her stomach cramping as she reads the report. Cosmog is supposed to be an Ultra Beast. Cosmog might be able to create wormholes to Ultra Space if it gets stressed. Moon thinks about Nebby, not Cosmog, she'll always think of that Pokemon as Nebby, being tortured and feels the urge to vomit. Nebby, who Lillie treats like a precious child. Nebby, who constantly escapes its bag and wanders off. These people want to torture it. Moon's hands ball into fists and she suddenly understands Gladion's urge to battle all the time. 

With a new determination, Moon looks through more of the files. She can't understand everything that she reads, but she gathers enough to understand that they were experimenting with Pokemon. They were creating artificial Pokemon in the lab until the Pokemon went berserk. They were frozen. Moon stares at the words, her heart aching at the thought of those Pokemon being frozen. Then she freezes when she sees the words: Type Null. Type Null was frozen. But Gladion has a Type: Null. Moon knows there's a story behind that, but it's not her place to ask. She goes to join the others. After reading that, she needs to see everyone.

*  
Over dinner, they try to come up with a plan. Moon shares what she learned about Cosmog. Gladion looks towards Lillie. “Did you know about this?” he asks. “Is that why you ran away with it?” 

Lillie nods. “I couldn't stand the thought of them hurting Nebby. I took it and ran.” There's something soft in Gladion's eyes as he looks at Lillie. “You were always too nice.” Moon thinks about what she read about Type: Null and about how Gladion has come to have that Pokemon. She doesn't say anything, though. Instead she asks, “So now what?” 

Gladion runs his hand through his hair. “We rescue Lusamine. Even after all she's done, she's still our mother. We can't leave her and Guzma in Ultra Space.”

Lillie nods. “And I'd like to confront mother. I know she might not listen to me, but I need to tell her how I feel.” 

“I'll come with you,” Moon offers, because no way is she letting her friends face this alone. But Lillie is shaking her head. “I can't ask you to do that,” she says. 

“You're not,” Moon answers. In the end it's decided that Gladion will remain here to deal with the Aether foundation and Hau will go back to be with Hala so they can alert the other Kahunas and captains. Wicke tells them that they should get some rest, but Moon doesn't want to sleep, so she goes into Lillie's room. “Am I bothering you?”Moon asks, and Lille shakes her head.

“No.”

“Good. I just didn't want to be alone for a bit.”

“That's fine.” They sit in silence for a bit until Lillie breaks it. “She wasn't always like this.” Moon looks over at Lillie, waiting for her to speak. “My mom, I mean. She wasn't always like this. There was this one time when I was little and I saw this movie where this guy started dancing in the rain. I was entranced, and the next time it rained, I went out to dance. She saw me from the window and rushed out to get me, but she ended up dancing with me, too. We both caught a cold and we spent a week recovering in the same bed. I know she might not listen, that it might not even work, but if there's any chance that I can reach her, I have to try.” 

Lillie still believes that there's good in her mother after all she's done. She and Gladion still want to save Lusamine after all she's done. Moon suddenly has the urge to call her mom, to thank her for always be in her corner. She has to thank her mom for always being supportive and not treating her like an ornament, for listening to her. She's known that people weren't as fortunate as her, but actually seeing it...

Moon excuses herself. But when she reaches for the phone, she hesitates. She doesn't know what tomorrow will bring. She's going to face beasts from another world. It suddenly hits Moon that she might not survive and she begins to tremble. She can't do this. She's just one trainer; she can't do anything. Why does she think she can do anything? But then Moon thinks that Lillie and Gladion are her friends. They need help. That's all there is to it. But Moon has to talk to her mom. She has to hear her voice. Her fingers dial the familiar button.

“Hello?” Hearing her mom's voice makes Moon feel as if she's sank into a hot tub. She wants her mom to hug her and tell her everything will be alright, but that's not possible. “Hi, mom.” Moon's voice wavers and her mom picks up on it. “Is everything okay?”

“No, I....” Moon struggles to figure out a way to explain. She can barely even understand it herself. She doesn't talk. She thinks about ways to bring up the topic- I'm going to do something dangerous, there's such a thing as other dimensions and I'm running off to one to save my friends' mom, I got involved in some sort of scientific conspiracy, but nothing seems adequate. Finally she settles on, “I'm going to be doing something dangerous.” That probably isn't the best opener.

“How dangerous?” her mom asks. “Like letting poison pokemon attack you dangerous?” Moon giggles. “Maybe a bit more dangerous,” she admits. She wants to tell her mom that she might not make it home, but she doesn't want to worry her mom. But her mom deserves to know that Moon might be risking her life. “Like other worlds dangerous,” Moon admits, and the whole story comes out.  
There's silence on the other end of the line. Moon knows her mom is there because she hears her breathing. After a few moments, her mom speaks. “There's nothing I can say to convince you to come home, is there?” she says.

“Lillie and Gladion are my friends,” Moon answers. “I can't abandon them.” More silence. Moon tries to think of ways to fill the silence, but she can't think of any. Her mom talks. Her voice is soft. “I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud that you grew up to be so brave and compassionate. Just-please be careful. I can't lose you.” 

Moon swallows. She wants to tell her mom how much she loves her, how fortunate she is to have such a loving mother, but she can't find the words, so she chokes out an “I love you,” and hangs up. I'm going to be okay, Moon tells herself. We're all going to be okay. She isn't going to accept anything else.

*  
Moon knows that she should be asleep, but she can't do it. She has sleeping potions or she could see if one of Shiinotic's spores will work. After a minute, Moon decides to get something to drink and then list all the Pokemon she can think of. That always puts her to sleep. Moon slips into the kitchen quietly and grabs a glass of water. A voice rings out. “Why are you doing this?”

Moon jumps and whirls around, fighting back a scream. Her heart rate returns to normal when she sees it's just Gladion. “Gladion, what are you doing?” she exclaims, and then Moon realizes that it's technically his house and he has every right to stand in his own kitchen. 

“Why are you doing this?” Gladion repeats, and Moon wonders if he's really objecting to her getting a glass of water. 

“I couldn't sleep,” Moon explains. “I wanted a glass of water. Why are you up? We really should be getting some rest. But I just can't get to sleep, you know?”

Gladion gestures impatiently. “Not getting a glass of water-I mean this! Why are you helping us? Lusamine is our mother. She's not your problem.” 

“Hau has helped too,” Moon points out. Gladion runs his hands through his hair and Moon waits for him to speak. “Lillie told me about how you met her. She told me how you jumped in front of spearow to save her. Then you've helped me and my Pokemon out and you went to save a child from the forest and now you're going to battle Ultra Beasts and I don't get it.” Gladion looks like he's about to tear his hair off in frustration. 

Moon doesn't know what to say. She's dealt with feral pokemon on occasion, pokemon that hiss and attack when you get too close. “You guys needed help,” Moon says. She knows that won't satisfy Gladion, but she doesn't know what else to say. Maybe there's some sort of deep psychological reason for her actions, but Moon has never been interested in psychoanalyzing herself. She was capable of helping those people, so she did it. She supposes with Lusamine as his mother, it's no wonder Gladion regards kindness with suspicion.

“You don't have to do this,” Gladion tells Moon. “This isn't your fight.” Moon considers that for a moment. She considers going home and pretending this isn't happening, but what good would that do? Moon will know that her friends will be in trouble. Her place is with them. 

“You guys are my friends,” Moon says. 

Gladion glares at her. “We're not friends.” His words are as sharp as a guillotine. Moon looks away to hide the hurt on her face. Of course. She should have known that Gladion doesn't consider her a friend. He's made it clear that he thinks of her as an annoyance, but in fairness, he thinks everyone is an annoyance. Moon hopes that if they can't be friends, they can at least be casual acquaintances who don't hate each other. “Well, good night.” Moon waves awkwardly.

*  
Ultra Space is...Moon can't even put it into words. It's dark and gray. Giant crystals tower over her and Lillie and Moon feels like an ant. She reaches for Lillie's hand. She needs to feel human contact. There's no sound. Still, there's a kind of terrible beauty to the place, like a lightning storm. Moon wonders what the plan is. Do they just grab Lusamine and jump through the portal? It's not like they have any other plans. 

*  
Lusamine has gone insane, Moon thinks. She's surrounded by Ultra Beasts and she's acting like a child at a picnic. Actually, she's acting like a child at a picnic who has to go home. She regards Lillie and Moon as intruders. Moon can only stare as she pets the Ultra Beasts and tosses Lillie away like a piece of trash. Moon has to do something. Maybe she has a potion or something that can help. Or maybe the best course of action is to just knock Lusamine out, and run through the portal. Lusamine's eyes are wide and deranged, and Moon wonders if she's been poisoned somehow. She's heard of poisons making people lose their minds.

But Lillie is speaking. Moon watches in awe as Lillie yells at her mother that she and Cosmog are alive and not things for Lusamine to use and discard. Moon almost breaks into applause when Lillie calls Lusamine terrible. But Lillie's words have no effect on Lusamine. She brushes them off like flies and turns to Moon. Moon freezes at the look in her eyes. Lusamine is blaming her. She's blaming her for corrupting Lillie and if Moon could form the words she would say that Lillie and Gladion are good, kind people who saw that pokemon were being mistreated and acted to stop it and she had nothing to do with it. She wants to say that she's proud to know them. 

But Lusamine is yelling at Moon for intruding on her perfect paradise and before Moon can do anything, Lusamine is fusing with Nihelgo. Moon can't believe it. She can't believe someone would go that far. But there's no more time to think. Lusamine attacks and Moon sends out her Pokemon. She doesn't fight fair. She can't afford to. She has her Pokemon double team Lusamine. She pours potions down their throats when she sees them flagging and hurls Shiinotic spores, but they don't seem to be doing much use. 

Incineroar lands hit after hit. Even as it goes against all her instincts, Moon tells her Pokemon to keep attacking. They have to win this battle, no matter what. Moon can't think. Every move she makes is borne of desperation. All she knows is that if she loses, she and Lillie might be trapped in Ultra Space. If she loses, the world might be in danger. Moon has to win, because if she doesn't her mom will be in danger and her friends will be in danger. Moon won't let that happen. With a cry of defiance, Moon hurls herself at Lusamine. Lusamine knocks her back and Moon goes flying. She lands against the ground hard enough to jar her bones, but nothing feels broken. Still, Moon can't move. Her body aches when she tries and she's so tired. 

Lusamine advances on her. Moon knows she should get away, but she can't move. She can see Lusamine coming towards her and it's fascinating how her mind can register that and know she has to move, but she can't bring herself to do so. 

Her Pokemon form a barrier between her and Lusamine. Moon feels a sense of calm coming over her. “Lille, do you think Nebby can make a portal?” she asks. Lillie nods. “Okay.” As far as plans go this one isn't very good, but it's all Moon has. “All or nothing!” Moon cries, and all her Pokemon attack at once.

There's an explosion and for a moment Moon thinks that she's done it, that Lusamine is defeated. But Lusamine is getting up and Moon's stomach is sinking. But Lusamine is shouting at Lillie and she's lifting her hand? Tentacle? (Moon isn't sure what the correct term is) and preparing to bring it down on Lillie. Without thinking, Moon places herself in front of Lillie. Lillie cries out for Lunala to help them. Moon doesn't see when Lunala attacks. But she does see a beam of light and see it collide with Lusamine.

For a moment, everything is still. Then Lusamine collapses and the Nihelgo is floating away from her. Moon doesn't wait. She grabs Lusamine and she and Lillie hurl themselves through the portal. When they get back to Earth, Moon hastily unpacks her bag. Lusamine can't die. She won't let Lillie and Gladion lose their mom. She thinks about the story Lillie told her about her mother and thinks that there has to be some good in her, and she has to live so she can find it. 

Moon examines Lusamine. She knows a fair amount about poison thanks to her studies, but she has no idea about the qualities of of the Ultra Beasts poison. This is behind her skill. She instructs someone to go for help. She doesn't really see who does it. Moon is busy pouring antidotes down Lusamine's throat and bandaging her wounds and thinking, “Don't die, don't die, don't die,” as if she can keep Lusamine here by sheer force of will. The world disappears. Nothing exists in the world but Lusamine and Moon's attempt to save her or at least keep her from dying until someone else can save her.

A hand on her shoulder startles Moon. She looks around to see Lillie. “I've brought help,” Lillie says, and Moon watches as Lusamine is taken away. She's done it. Moon glances at the sky and sees that it's not going to be ripped apart and the Ultra Beasts aren't going to descend. Lusamine is getting helped. Moon knows she should be happy. But she can't feel anything. She feels like she's been drained of her emotions.

“Moon.” Moon looks up at Gladion's voice. She hasn't realized he was there. He reaches out for her, then stops. “You're shaking,” he says, and Moon realizes that he's right. She is shaking. She's shaking and she can't bring herself to stop. Her breath comes in short gasps. Gladion is beside her then, wrapping his arms around her and guiding her to the ground. “Are you okay?” Gladion asks. 

Moon opens her mouth to answer. She wants to tell him that she's fine, but the words are frozen in her throat. Dimly, she's aware that she's still shaking and she feels pain, but it's a distant sort of thing. Snap out of it, Moon yells at herself. You're fine. You have things that you need to do. But she can't make her body obey her.

“Moon, tell me what to do. You have to tell me what to do,” Gladion murmurs. He's still holding her. He's warm and Moon leans into him. She feels her body relaxing and she thinks that Gladion is probably making a special exception because of what happened today, because no way would he cuddle with her. His fingers stroke her hair for a minute, the touch so light that Moon thinks she imagined it.

“Moon, please.” Gladion's voice is soft now, the way it's only been when he's talking to his Pokemon or Lillie. That brings Moon back to herself. She's fallen apart enough. She has things to do. She removes herself from Gladion's arms. “I need to take care of my Pokemon,” she says, and begins to do so. 

“What about you?” Gladion asks. He's watching her warily. 

Moon waves off his concern. “I'm fine,” she says. “Nothing a little sleep won't cure. Although I should probably call my mom.” Gladion is still watching her like he wants to say something. After a few minutes, he speaks sharply. “I still remember what you taught me. Let me help.” Moon watches as Gladion helps her treat her Pokemon. Something inside her blooms at that, but she doesn't have time to examine it. She watches Gladion, his face tight with concentration as he applies the bandages to Leafeon. Tears gather in Moon's eyes. Leafeon looks weak and limp. Leafeon doesn't fight. He can fight, but he prefers not to. But Moon has ordered him to fight. She's ordered all her Pokemon to fight. She's put them in danger. Logically, Moon knows that she didn't have a choice, that they had to fight to save the world, but that doesn't comfort her as she looks at her injured Pokemon. Before she knows what's happening, the tears are falling.

Gladion looks up. He reaches over to touch Moon's hand. “It'll be okay, Moon,” he says. His voice is soft again. Moon decides to let herself believe him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story got away from me and I had to up the chapter count. I have taken artistic liberty with my depiction of the law and symptoms of blood loss.

Chapter 3

Lusamine will be fine. Lillie calls to tell Gladion and Moon the news. They've gotten rooms at the Pokemon center. Gladion has tried to convince Moon to rest, and she'd like to, she really would, but she can't get her mind to shut off. Moon knows that she'll crash after a while. Moon listens as Lillie tells them that Lusamine will be fine, although she's still weak from the toxins. She'll have to stay in the hospital for a bit, and then there will be talk about a trial. But for right now Lusamine is alive and the world is safe, so that's reason to celebrate. Lillie's eyes are red-rimmed, but she smiles a trembling smile and Moon smiles back. “The doctors say you did a good job stabilizing her,” Lillie continues. “Thank you.” 

“It was no problem,” Moon says. They hang up and Moon thinks she'll finally be able to get some rest. But her brain doesn't let her rest easy, and she finds herself trying to figure out what she's going to do in the next few days, after she and her Pokemon have healed up. She supposes she could still travel Alola, but Moon finds that she wants a break for a little bit. Maybe she'll go home. Yes, that sounds like a good idea. She'd like to see her mom and maybe sleep in her own bed for a bit. But Moon has promised Lillie that she'll help her get Nebby home and she doesn't want to abandon her. But maybe Lillie would be okay with Moon taking a few days off?Moon figures she can work this out later and closes her eyes. She doesn't think about how close Lillie and Gladion came to losing their mother. She doesn't think about the look in Lusamine's eyes when she was fused with Nihelgo. She doesn't think about how she and her Pokemon nearly died. Maybe later she will, but not now.

*  
When Moon brings up the subject with Lillie, Lillie is all for it. She's spending most of her time with her mother as well, so she can understand Moon's need to see her own mother. A few days later, Moon is flying on a Charizard back to her town. Moon's heart speeds up when she sees her house and she almost launches herself off Charizard before realizing that it would be kind of stupid to die from falling off a Charizard after surviving going to another dimension. Granted, Moon has on safety gear and she's pretty sure Ride Pokemon are trained on what to do in case their passengers fall off, but she doesn't feel like risking it. 

Finally, finally, Charizard is landing and Moon is scrambling off and nearly tripping in her haste. She pounds up to her house and raps on the door. Her heartbeat matches her pounding, which doesn't even make sense because she has no reason to be nervous or scared. She's safe, her mom is safe, everyone is safe. Suddenly the door is being flung open and Moon can only see her mom's blouse before she's yanked into a hug. Moon can feel herself suffocating in her mom's embrace, but she's never felt so safe.

Moon's mom pulls back to look at her. Moon wonders what she sees. She thinks maybe she should say something, but she can't find the words.

“Do you have any idea how much you worried me?” Moon's stomach churns. She knows. She knows that she worried her mom and if she would have given anything to not have, but she still wouldn't change the outcome of what happened. “Yes,” Moon says quietly. Justifications form in her head, but Moon can't get them past her lips. She wonders if it will make a difference. “You know I didn't want to worry you, right?” Moon says. “But I told you my friends were in trouble and so was the world and I couldn't do nothing.”

Her mom sighs. “I know. I know that you want to help people and I'm so proud of you for that. But that doesn't make it any less terrifying for me.” 

Moon forces a laugh. “Well, on the plus side, I'm taking a quick break, so I don't think I'll be going off on any adventures right now. Actually, I have to compile my notes on the remedies I've been working on. Oh, and I want to introduce you to my Pokemon. I got a Comfey, a Leafeon, and a Phantump. Leafeon is just the sweetest. Phantump's really, really playful and Comfey is good with healing. Actually, Comfey is a great Pokemon to have in the garden. I was thinking about using her petals for bath oils or soaps. And-” Her mom cuts her off. 

“Why don't we go inside the house and you can introduce me to your Pokemon?” she suggests. Moon pauses and realizes that they haven't even gone inside the house. She laughs and follows her mom inside.

*  
Moon settles back into life at home. She thought she wouldn't be able to-that her life would feel smaller after all she's seen, but it doesn't. It feels comforting, like a favorite meal. She and Comfey spend most of their time in the garden. Leafeon is usually found in the garden with them. When she's not working in the garden, she's conducting research. At the back of her mind, the presence of the Ultra Beasts lingers. Hau has told her about how he and his grandfather had battled against an Ultra Beast and had defeated it by the skin of their teeth. He also tells her (rubbing the back of his neck and trying not to look too pleased) about how his grandfather has said he's gotten stronger. 

Hau tells her he thinks he's going to challenge the Pokemon League and Moon wishes him good luck. She knows Hau can do it. Underneath his cheerful exterior is a truly formidable trainer. Moon thinks about what it would be like to challenge the Elite Four or the Alolan Pokemon League. She thinks about becoming a serious competitive trainer and then decides against it. Her interests lie in medicine, not battling. But then another voice in her head pipes up that there's no reason she can't do both. In the meantime, though, Moon is busy enough here, treating injured Pokemon and preparing antidotes. She's learned so much and she's going to put it to use.

*  
Hau wins the Pokemon League. When he tells her, Moon feels like she's going to burst with pride. She can't believe her friend has actually won the Pokemon League. Hau reenacts his battle with dramatic flourishes at the party Professor Kukui has thrown. Moon and Lillie laugh, and Moon feel lighter. This, being surrounded by her friends, seeing them grow, seeing them happy-it's made going into Ultra Space worth it. Her friends are safe. Moon glances up at the sky. She can't wrap her mind around the fact that there are other worlds besides their own. Sure, she's made up games about that, but to actually go to the world itself? Moon wonders if they'll be able to explore Ultra Space without having to torture a Pokemon. She wonders if people could live there. She and Lillie had made out fine, but who knows how long they would have lasted?

Moon puts the thought out of her head for now. This is a party and it's time to celebrate. So Moon dances and does Z poses with everyone else. She takes a bunch of photographs and notices to her delight that Lillie makes goofy faces now as opposed to just smiling shyly. It's amazing to see Lillie laugh and joke around with the others. Moon can't help but feel proud, like when she's managed to make a new potion, but she knows this is all Lillie.

Later on, when the party is dwindling down, Moon sits with Hau and Lillie. “Remember when we first met?” Lillie says. Moon nods. Lillie continues. “I thought you were the craziest girl I'd met. I mean, who gets in front of attacking Pokemon?” 

“What did you think of me?” Hau asks, grinning. 

“I wondered what it would be like to be so happy and carefree all the time.” Lillie pauses for a moment and then continues. “I want you guys to know that you are my best friends. I don't think I would have gotten this far without you guys. And you guys have inspired me. I want to see the world. I don't want to be afraid anymore.” Lillie pauses again and Moon feels like she's about to say something major and finds herself holding her breath. “I'm going to go on a Pokemon journey,” Lillie blurts out. “I want to go to Kanto.”

Moon can only stare. Lillie is leaving. Lillie is leaving to go to Kanto. Moon realizes that Lillie is speaking to her. “You aren't mad, are you?” she asks. “I just wanted to get away from Alola for a bit, to see what it's like exploring a new region. And I chose Kanto because you're from Kanto and I thought it'd make me feel closer to you.” 

Moon's heart warms at this. Fighting back her slight sadness, she musters up a grin for Lillie. “Of course I'm not mad,” Moon assures her. “Kanto's amazing. I'll write down all the different places you should visit. If you go to Celadon, definitely stop by the gym and see my friend Erika. What are you going to do in Kanto? Are you going to take on the gyms, be a coordinator? What about Nebby?”

Lillie blushes. “I was thinking maybe I'd try the gyms. Nebby can defend themselves now and they're looking forward to exploring a new region.” A look of worry crosses her face. “You guys don't think that's stupid, do you?” 

“No way!” Hau says. “I think it's awesome, Lillie.” Moon is about to reassure Lillie as well, because it is awesome that Lillie wants to see the world and become a trainer, but movement distracts her. She looks towards the trees and rolls her eyes at Lillie. “Lillie, does your brother know that lurking in the trees and spying on people is creepy? Because it is.” 

Lillie looks startled, so Moon gestures to Gladion. They stare for a moment before Lillie sighs.   
“Gladion isn't the best at approaching people,” she says.

Moon wonders why Gladion is there and if he knows they can see him and if he's going to join the party. 

“Should we go over and say hello?” Hau asks, and Lillie shakes her head. 

“Leave him for a bit,” she advises. “Just coming to a social gathering is a huge step for him.” But later on Moon slips away to see Gladion, a plate of food in her hand. “Hey,” she calls softly. “I brought you some food.” Moon takes it as a sign of progress that Gladion doesn't immediately question her motives. He takes the plate from her and begins to eat. “So what brings you here?” Moon asks, hoping her voice sounds casual. Gladion doesn't reply for a few minutes. Moon decides to change the subject. “Did Lillie tell you about how she's going on a Pokemon journey?” she asks.

Gladion nods. He pauses and Moon can sense he wants to say something, so she waits. 

“It's funny,” Gladion says. “I was the one who ran away first. I argued with mother all the time, but Lillie went along with everything.” He barks a short, bitter laugh. “You know how she hates conflict.” Moon nods. Gladion continues. “Part of me hated her for that. So when I left, I thought it would be okay. Lillie doesn't make trouble like I did. Then I find out she stole a Pokemon and ran away, so I've been underestimating her.”

“Lillie has always been brave,” Moon says, and Gladion nods. “What about you?” Moon asks. “What are you going to do now?” 

Gladion hands Moon the plate abruptly. “Tell Hau I said congratulations. I always knew he'd go far if he started taking things seriously.” He strides off and Moon stares after him, wondering if she's offended him or if Gladion has reached his quota for interacting with people for now. Moon figures it's the latter and goes off to find Lillie and Hau.

*  
Moon is in her garden when her mom calls out that she has a visitor. Moon yells back to send them over and goes back to her task. She's expecting Hau or Lillie. Lillie leaves for Kanto in a few days and she and Moon have been busy preparing medical supplies. Moon starts when she hears a voice and it isn't Lillie or Hau. 

“Moon.” 

Moon whips around to see Gladion. “What are you doing here?” she demands. She winces. That came out ruder than she'd intended. “I mean, do you need something?” Moon tries to make her voice more gentle. “Is Lillie okay? What about your Pokemon?” 

Gladion just blinks at her. “No- everyone is fine.” Moon stares back. So Gladion doesn't require medical attention and there's no world-ending emergency. Why is he here? Like he said, they aren't friends. Gladion folds his arms and Moon is struck by how weird he looks in her garden. She should probably invite him inside or something. Gladion clears his throat. “So, are you gardening?” he asks.

Moon nods. “Yeah. You want to join me? Lillie likes gardening. Before we started the journey, we basically gardened when we hung out, or did experiments. Or Professor Kukui and I were doing experiments and Lillie would tell us to stop being so reckless.” 

Gladion crouches down and follows Moon's instructions as she tells him how to pull weeds. They work in companionable silence for a while. Moon tries to figure out why Gladion has decided to show up at her house, but after a few minutes she gives up and turns her attention to the weeding. 

“Did you know that some weeds are medicinal?” Moon says. “Like yarrow is good to stop bleeding and increasing appetite. It also helps fight the cold and flu. Don't you think that's amazing? Do you ever just think about all the medicine and technology we have and think about how someone invented that? Like how we have computers. Or how someone figured out what plants are medicinal. Like, what possessed the first people to try plants as medicine to do so? I mean, that would have been a bit of trial and error, because there are some plants that are poisonous, and in certain times we didn't have field guides so we couldn't identify the dangerous plants.”

Moon doesn't expect Gladion to reply. But she can't keep her thoughts from spilling out. Gladion keeps his gaze on the ground. “What's this weed?” he asks. Moon identifies the weed and tells Gladion the uses. 

“So do you have any big plans?” Moon asks. “Lillie's going on her Pokemon journey. What about you? Are you going to just chill for a bit? Or are you going to go on your own Pokemon journey? Maybe find more opponents?”

“I always hated Aether Foundation.” Moon blinks at the non-sequitur. Gladion digs with more force than strictly necessary. “Aether was the place that created Null and then just threw it away when they couldn't handle it and it wasn't useful. It was the place that tortured Cosmog. I wanted it to burn to the ground.” Gladion's shoulders are tense. Moon brushes her hand against his shoulder and then removes it quickly when Gladion tenses. She waits for Gladion to continue. “But then I thought of you.” 

Moon has to take a moment for Gladion's words to register. She can't understand it. Why would Gladion think about her when he was thinking about Aether burning? Does she give off arsonist vibes or something? Is it because she has a part fire type Pokemon? And why is Gladion talking so much? This is the equivalent of a soliloquy with him. Moon shrugs it off. Lillie has decided to go on Pokemon journey after they traveled together. Moon doesn't think she's been any sort of influence on Gladion, but maybe Gladion's journey has let him discover parts of himself he didn't know he had. Lillie has discovered she can be brave. Maybe Gladion has discovered he can reach out to people. 

Gladion looks at her. Moon isn't sure, but she thinks she sees a smile on his face, but it's fleeting, so she can't really tell. “I thought of you, and I thought about how you would babble about forests and ash and stuff about the soil and things like that.” Moon still can't see where Gladion is going with this. “Okay...” she says slowly, her brows furrowed. 

“And thinking about you reminded me about how Lillie said you were really excited about the Aether Foundation and you wanted to work there.”

“That was before I knew they were doing shady experiments!” Moon protested. Gladion can't hold a grudge against her for wanting to work at Aether, can he? Sure, she may have been fooled, but Aether went to the trouble of making sure they looked reputable. 

Gladion scoffs at Moon. “I know you wouldn't condone their experiments,” he says in exasperation. “But I was thinking about what you thought Aether was. And I thought, “Aether can be that.”

Moon feels as though something big is coming, but she can't find the words to say anything. Instead she just sits still and waits. She thinks about when she first started growing plants and how she'd wait impatiently for the first sprout to grow. She remembers the feeling of joy when she'd see the little green sprout poking up from the soil. She thinks that waiting for Gladion to talk is like that. One day she might tell him that and see how he reacts. 

“I want to rebuild Aether Foundation,” Gladion says. Moon stares, unsure of what she's heard. She's heard the words, but she just can't process them. Gladion is still speaking. His voice is jerky and unsure. “Aether Foundation has done so many bad things. This could be a chance to do something good.” 

Moon can't put into words what she feels, but she makes an attempt. “That's amazing, Gladion. I'm so proud of you. Aether Foundation has all these amazing resources and it really sucks that the place was doing all that horrible stuff, but like you said, now there's a chance to do some good. Just think about all the Pokemon we can help. Did you see the rehabilitation areas? What about the research? I mean, there's scientists out there with reputable projects who don't have the resources or the funding? What are your plans?”

Gladion doesn't talk and Moon worries that she may have overwhelmed him. “Sorry, sorry,” she says. “I just got excited. But you are doing a great thing,Gladion.” For a moment they weed together in silence until Gladion breaks it. “I thought you might like to help.”

“Help with what?” Moon asks.

“With Aether Foundation. You wanted to before. I thought you'd like the opportunity.” The words circle around in Moon's head. Then before she can think better of it, she's tackling Gladion in a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she squeals. “This is so exciting. You won't regret this, I promise. What are your plans? Are you guys going to hire any more people? What about volunteers? Oh, but wasn't parts of Aether Foundation destroyed during the battles?”

Moon suddenly becomes aware that she's still hugging Gladion. She can feel how stiff he is and immediately scoots back. “Sorry, sorry,” she says. “So...any plans?” Moon runs her fingers through the dirt to distract herself from her awkward feelings. She shouldn't have hugged Gladion. She's gotten the impression that he doesn't like to be touched and she doesn't really want to overstep his boundaries. But she'd just gotten so excited about Gladion's offer that she couldn't help herself.

Gladion shifts for a moment. His voice sounds calm, and Moon hopes that means he isn't upset with her hugging him. “I'm not really sure as yet,” he says. There's a slight hesitation in his voice. He brushes his hair out of his eyes. “I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know anything about running a Pokemon sanctuary.” 

Moon wants to touch his shoulder to comfort him, but she doesn't think that will work, so she tries to use logic and reassurance. “Lots of people don't know how to do things when they first start out,” she says. “That's what mom said when she started a new job. That she'd learn how to do it. And I didn't always know how to do certain things, like braid hair or read or garden. I remember when I didn't know how to read. Which makes sense, because most people are born not knowing how to read, unless they're some sort of genius. But anyway, I was learning how to read and reading these books and I couldn't recognize all the words. But once I got better at reading I went back to read the book and it was so much easier. I think that's so interesting, how there are things you learn that you can remember when you learned or things you learned that you've known how to do for so long that you forgot there was a time that you didn't know how to do it. Wait, does that make sense?”

“Is there a point to all this?” Gladion asks. Moon pauses as she tries to think of her original point. 

“My point is that you'll figure out what to do. You've got people to help you and you're smart. I'll help you. In fact, why don't we start right now? We can make a list of things to do.” Gladion nods and stands up. Moon leads him into the house. She wonders if she should invite Gladion into her room. Her parents have always been pretty lenient about boys in her room, but it's not like Moon has ever really had any guys over. In the end she decides to just let Gladion hang out in the living room. She grabs her notebook and pen.

Gladion is looking around the house. Moon wonders what he thinks. The home is new, but her mom has already put up the knickknacks and childish drawings. Moon sees that his eyes are on a set of Moon's handprints from when she was five taped to the fridge. “I like your house,” Gladion says. His voice has no inflection, so Moon isn't sure if he really means it or if he's just being polite. But then again, Gladion doesn't really give unwarranted compliments. Moon brushes it off and settles down with Gladion. 

A while later, they're busy bouncing suggestions off each other. Gladion doesn't really talk too much at first, but pretty soon he's suggesting things like forming a team to go out and rescue Pokemon and making an adoption area for Pokemon who have been abandoned by their trainers as well as events where people can come and adopt the Pokemon. Moon agrees readily. She's heard stories where Pokemon get abandoned because they aren't evolving fast enough for their trainers or their trainers have to move and can't take their Pokemon with them. Moon focuses more on the healing and experimental aspects of the foundation.

Moon's mom comes into the room. “Is your friend staying for lunch, Mooncake?” she asks. Moon glances at Gladion, remembering what he said about them not being friends. She wonders if she should correct her mom, but she can't find a good way to bring it up.

“I'm fine,” Gladion declines.

But Moon's mom insists and Moon joins her on insisting, so Gladion joins them for lunch. He stares at the food. 

“Help yourself,” Moon's mom says. Gladion glances at Moon, who nods. She takes a very small portion for herself. She feels so excited she can't eat. “Guess what, mom?” she chirps. “Gladion's rebuilding Aether Foundation! He invited me to get a job there!” Then Moon realizes how conceited that sounds. “Well, maybe not invited to get a job, but he's trying to rebuild Aether Foundation and he'd like me to help out. I think I could help out a bit with healing.” 

“Aether Foundation? Wasn't that the organization you were telling me about, Moon?” 

Gladion stabs at his food. “Aether Foundation has done horrible things.” 

Moon reaches over to touch his hand, then stops herself. “You weren't responsible for any of that,” she tells him. “And now thanks to you, Aether Foundation is going to do great things.” Gladion's posture loosens slightly and he actually puts food in his mouth instead of acting like he's practicing for a stabbing. “I did ask Moon to help me,” Gladion says. “I hope that's okay. I understand if you wanted to spend more time with her. But Moon is a really talented healer and I could really use her help with this.”

Moon pauses. She'd been so caught up in the excitement about her new position that she didn't stop to consider how her mom might feel about it. She opens her mouth to say that she doesn't have to take the position, but she knows she won't be able to say it. Her mom smiles at her a little wistfully. “I suppose that's safer than you going into alternate dimensions and battling the creatures there,” she says. Moon smiles back. 

Her mom turns to Gladion. “Moon must have made quite an impression on you if you're asking her to come help you. How did you two meet?”

“I met Moon while I was traveling and challenged her to a battle. A day or so later Moon ran into me and helped out my Zubat. And then we kept running into each other and she kept healing my Pokemon.” 

“Sounds like her.” The rest of the meal passes by comfortably. Gladion gives short answers to the questions, but he doesn't sound impolite. When Gladion leaves, Moon's mom cheerfully invites Gladion to come over any time he wants. Gladion glances at Moon and she nods. Gladion lifts his hand in a little wave and strides off.

*  
When it's time for Lillie to leave on her journey, Moon, Gladion, and Hau are there to see her off. Lillie looks different from when Moon first met her, and it's not just because Lillie is wearing a white shirt and shorts with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. It's because she stands up straighter and looks at people in the eye. There's a lightness to her now. Moon can't wait to see how much stronger Lillie will get when she goes on a Pokemon journey. Moon wishes she could go on the journey with her, but she'll be content to hear about all the amazing things Lillie has seen and the people she's met.

Moon hugs Lillie. “I'm going to miss you so much. Good luck! Take lots of photos for me, okay? And keep in touch! I want to know what you think about Kanto!” 

Lillie hugs Moon back. “I'm going to miss you, too. And I wouldn't have had the courage to go on this journey if you and Hau hadn't shown me how to be brave.” Moon is about to argue because Lillie was already brave. She just never saw it. 

But Hau beats her to it. “You were already brave, Lillie.” Gladion steps over and Moon and Hau move aside because they figure the siblings probably want to say a private goodbye. Lillie hugs Gladion tightly and then she boards the ship. She waves wildly. 

Hau turns to Moon and Gladion. “So, do you guys want to get masalada? And you should know-I'm not taking no for an answer.” 

Moon smiles at Gladion. “It's probably best if you just go along with him,” she says. 

“I have work to do,” Gladion protests, but he still follows them. Hau keeps up a steady stream of chatter. As usual, he's jumping around. Gladion rolls his eyes. “I can't understand how someone like you actually managed to become the Champion,” he said, but there isn't as much heat in his voice. Hau rubs the back of his neck. “I don't know either,” he admits. “I guess it was just dumb luck.”

But Gladion is shaking his head. “You won because you are a talented trainer. Don't tell yourself otherwise.” 

Hau laughs. “So, you think I'm a talented trainer. I'm touched.” Gladion rolls his eyes. They get to the restaurant and sit down. “What are you going to do now?” Gladion asks Hau.

“What do you mean?” Hau asks. 

Gladion lets out a little huff of impatience. “I mean now that you're the Champion.”

“I have to defend my title,” Hau replies. “So that means I have to take on challengers. And grandad is training me to become the next Kahuna.”

“Sounds like you'll be busy,” Moon comments. Hau nods. She and Hau discuss the future. Gladion doesn't really talk as much, but Moon can tell from the way he's positioned that he's listening. Moon thinks that it's nice that Gladion seems to be opening up.

*  
When Moon goes to volunteer at Aether Foundation, she finds it's a lot of work. Parts of the area are still damaged, but there are areas that can be used still. Moon isn't much for repairs, so she works on administering medicine and caring for sick Pokemon. Sometimes she'll go out to the Lush Jungle to gather ingredients. Right now she's digging up roots. Mallow sits next to her. 

“Do you think Gladion will let me help out at Aether Foundation?” she asks. 

Moon thinks it over for a moment. “I'm sure he will,” she says. “We're gathering up a bunch of people for different things. We have people caring for injured Pokemon and Pokemon rescue teams. And we're hoping to get a research division up and running, so there's that. Oh, and you know how it's on a man-made island? I was thinking there should be a project where we try to make a landscape for Paras and Parasect. I mean, the mushrooms on their backs grow really poorly, so I was thinking we could create a habitat for them.”

Mallow nods. “That's a good idea,” she says.” They discuss the different properties of soils and fertilizer before they decide to break for lunch. When Moon walks into the restaurant, she  
shocked to see a member of Team Skull working behind the counter. Moon glances at Mallow, who simply smiles and waves at the girl, so Moon figures it's okay. She suddenly remembers that Team Skull has disbanded. It never occurred to her to wonder what became of the former members.

“So, you have a former Team Skull member working here,” Moon remarks. 

“Yeah. I offered her a job.”

“Just like that?”

Mallow shrugs. “Yeah, she was here eating and she mentioned she needed a job since she couldn't resort to criminal activities anymore, and we always need extra hands around here, so why not? Besides, she is trying to turn her life around and I think that's a good thing and I don't mind helping.” Moon studies the girl behind the counter as she wonders why someone would have joined Team Skull. Aside from the whole kidnapping Lillie and attacking Gladion, Team Skull has never really done too many horrible things. The worst they've done is be public menaces. And Moon understands that people can do bad things and regret them and want to do better. 

*  
Even though Moon is mostly happy about Team Skull reforming, she's still shocked when Plumeria turns up. Plumeria stands with her hands folded. Moon flashes back to the last time she saw her, when her Pokemon was attacking Gladion and Lillie was being kidnapped. She gets that Team Skull has disbanded and has turned over a new leaf, but that doesn't stop the sinking feeling in her stomach and her hand drifts to her Pokeballs. 

“What do you want?” Moon tries to demand, but her voice doesn't come out as hard as she wants.

Plumeria raises her hands. “Take it easy,” she says. “I'm not here to fight.” Moon's wariness is replaced by curiosity. Her posture relaxes slightly. “Why are you here?” she asks.

Plumeria looks her straight in the eye. “I did horrible things to you and your friends. I won't make any excuses for that. But I want you to know that I am sorry.”

Moon stares at Plumeria. She admires how Plumeria looks her in the eye and doesn't look away or fidget. She supposes she can accept Plumeria's apology, so she nods. 

Plumeria's shoulders sag a little. “What about your friends?” she asks. “Would they be willing to hear me out?” 

Moon thinks it over for a moment. “Lillie and Hau would probably be willing to hear you out,” she says. 

“What about Gladion?” Plumeria presses. Moon is taken aback for a moment. She didn't realize Plumeria thought she and Gladion were friends. In the end, she doesn't bother to correct Plumeria. Moon just says, “It might be harder to convince Gladion. He seems like he would hold a grudge.”

Plumeria rolls her eyes. “Oh, there's no doubt about that. Guy has a total stick up his ass. You should have seen how mad he got whenever Team Skull members tried to prank him.” Moon pauses for a moment. She'd forgotten that Gladion was technically part of Team Skull, but it's still odd to hear Plumeria mention that. It hits Moon that there are parts of Gladion that she doesn't know, which is a really weird thing for her to think because Gladion has never been forthcoming with personal information.

“To be fair to Gladion,” Moon says, “you did attack him and kidnap his sister, so I can see why he'd hold a larger grudge than usual.”

Plumeria sighs. “That was messed up. You have no idea how much I regret that. But I want to make it right. Will you talk to Gladion for me?” Moon takes a moment to think it over. She's pretty sure Plumeria is sincere. But she doesn't know how Gladion will react to seeing Plumeria and if he'll be able to forgive her and Moon has no intentions of forcing him to make peace with someone before he's ready. “I'll pass along the message,” she says finally. “But that's it. I'm just going to tell him that you want to talk and apologize. If he doesn't want to hear it, I'm not convincing him to hear you out.”

“That's more than fair,” Plumeria says, and turns to go.

*  
Moon takes a day or so to think over how to approach Gladion. Eventually she decides the direct approach will work best and goes to meet him in his office at Aether Foundation. It's pretty much what Moon would expect from Gladion. The walls are bare and the furniture is minimal- a desk, a chair, and a filing cabinet. A bed for Type:Null is in the corner of the room. Type: Null is curled up on it, but it raises its head as Moon enters. 

Gladion is frowning at paperwork. “You know, it's amazing how much paperwork is involved in certain things,” Moon remarks. Without meaning to, she's started to ramble. “Take gym leaders, for example. They have to make sure their buildings are up to code. So if a gym leader wanted to do a renovation, they'd have to make sure they had permits. They'd also have to make sure the gym was habitable for any Pokemon that were housed there. And then there's the paperwork to be recognized as an official gym, as well as hiring members of the gym.”

Gladion merely raises an eyebrow. “I had no idea the world of gym leaders was so complex,” he says. Moon can't tell if he's being sarcastic because there's no inflection in his voice. 

That doesn't stop Moon from remarking, “Yeah, it's not a thing most people think about. They just have to concern themselves with winning a gym battle. Which is a whole other matter.” 

“Did you want something?” Gladion asks. 

“Plumeria stopped by to see me the other day,” Moon says. 

Gladion is immediately half-way out of his seat. “What do you mean she came to see you? Did she do anything to you? Why didn't you tell me sooner?” Type:Null, sensing its trainer's agitation, is up and growling. Moon immediately moves towards the Pokemon, hands out to show that she's not a threat. She keeps her voice low. “It's okay,” she murmurs. “You're okay. Gladion's okay. See, he's right there.” 

Gladion moves around his desk and joins Moon in comforting Type: Null. His voice is soft as he assures Type: Null. “It's alright,” he murmurs. “Everything's alright. I'm sorry I scared you.” Gladion strokes its back until Type: Null settles back down. Gladion strokes Type: Null for a few moments longer. There's something tender and vulnerable about his body language. Moon has never really given much thought about what being soft looked like, but as she watches Gladion reassure his Pokemon, she begins to have an idea.

“Sorry about scaring Type: Null,” she says. “In my defense, I didn't know you'd go all, rawr.” She makes a growling sound and makes claw shapes with her fingers. 

Gladion levels her with an unimpressed look. “The last time I saw Plumeria, she attacked me and kidnapped my sister. How did you expect me to react?” 

Moon can't really think of anything to say, so she settles on shrugging. After a minute she replies, “Well, Plumeria didn't attack me or do anything to me. Team Skull is actually reforming. Well, at least three people are. I'm not in contact with all the members, so for all I know some of them could be off to be public menaces elsewhere.”

“What did she want?” Gladion demands. 

“She wanted to apologize.” Moon keeps her voice casual. She watches Gladion for his reaction. For a moment he just stares at her and Moon wonders if he didn't hear her. Then he speaks. His voice is flat. “She wanted to apologize,” he says.

Moon nods. “Yeah. It surprised me as well, but I accepted the apology.”

“Just like that?” Gladion's voice is still flat, but Moon thinks she can detect a hint of mocking in it, like she's at a restaurant and eating a dish with a subtle flavor she can't identify. Moon pauses for a moment as she tries to figure out what to say. She figures that Gladion isn't happy she forgave Plumeria, but that's her own business. Given his reaction, Moon wonders if bringing up Plumeria's request right now would be a good idea. Moon realizes that she hasn't answered Gladion's question.

“I mean, I wouldn't say I'm going to be friends with her or even acquaintances, but if I see her in the streets I won't attack her. Okay, it's not like I'm the type of person to attack anyone so that metaphor doesn't really make sense. But the point is, she apologized, and I accepted the apology, and that's pretty much all there is to it.”

“There's more, isn't there?” Gladion says. 

Moon wonders how he knows that. “She wanted to apologize to you,” she tells Gladion.

“Then why hasn't she?” Gladion asks, and now Moon can definitely detect the bitterness in his voice. 

“She figures you'd probably attack her and not listen to anything she has to say,” Moon says bluntly, and Gladion concedes the point. They sit in silence for a few moments. Moon wonders what Gladion's decision will be, but she knows better than to push. Instead she pats Type:Null and looks around the office. It doesn't really surprise her that the office is so bare- Gladion's all about efficiency after all and he isn't the outwardly sentimental type. And practically speaking, less things in the office means less things to clean. Still, Moon can't help but think about how flowers would really brighten the office up.

“Do you think I should forgive her?” Gladion asks. Moon pauses. The last time Gladion saw Plumeria, she had attacked him and kidnapped his sister. It wasn't like Plumeria had done something minor, like destroy his hoodie. In that scenario Moon could tell Gladion that he should forgive Plumeria. 

“Do you want to forgive her?” Moon asks, and it's both an honest question and a stalling technique. 

Gladion's answer is automatic. “No.”

“Okay.” Moon isn't exactly surprised at Gladion's response, but she is surprised at his wide eyes. “What's wrong?” she asks. 

Gladion doesn't say anything for a moment. When he speaks, it's hesitant. “You don't think I'm a bad person?” he asks. 

Moon doesn't hesitate. “No,” she replies, and Gladion looks at her with an unreadable expression. 

“I just told you I didn't want to forgive someone,” he says. “Shouldn't you be telling me that I need to forgive them in order to heal or something like that? Don't you believe in second chances?” He raises his voice at the last words.

Moon stares at Gladion. She tries to think of what she can say that won't upset him. She defaults to her natural method and decides to treat him like an injured Pokemon. She just has to remain calm. “Are you upset with me because I'm saying you don't have to forgive Plumeria?” she asks. “Do you want me to tell you to forgive her?”

“No!” Gladion snaps. There's a pause. “Yes! I don't know.” His voice is rising. His spine is stiffening. Moon rests one hand on his shoulder, then removes it as Gladion tenses. They sit in silence for a few moments until Gladion breaks it. “I don't want to forgive Plumeria. She hurt me and she hurt my family.”

Moon doesn't say anything. She doesn't have the right words. She wishes she did. Gladion continues talking. “But I know that you're supposed to forgive people.” Gladion has this lost look in his eyes. Moon longs to put her arm around him, but she doesn't. Instead she tries to find the right words. 

“You're right,” she says. “I do believe in forgiveness and second chances. But I also believe that people shouldn't be forced to forgive others. Like sometimes the timing isn't right. You know, it's like how some fruits are seasonal and some plants only bloom at certain times of the year. Sometimes it's not the right time to forgive someone. And honestly, I think you shouldn't force someone to forgive someone before you're ready.

Gladion looks at her. His posture has relaxed slightly. “So you aren't going to try to convince me to forgive her?” he asks.

“I told her I was just going to pass along the message. I wasn't going to make a case on her behalf. So if you want to talk to her and hear what she has to say, fine. But if you don't want to talk to her, that's fine as well. I'm not going to push you.” Moon figures that Gladion will take some time to think it over, so she settles into a more comfortable position to wait. “Let Plumeria know I'll hear her out,” Gladion says abruptly.

“You know you don't have to do that,” Moon tells Gladion. She knows it's a stupid thing to say because she doubts Gladion is the type to let others tell him what he can and can't do. But after his slight outburst, Moon wants to make sure he knows that she won't think badly of him if he can't forgive Plumeria. Gladion glares. “I know I don't have to do that. I have paperwork to do.” Moon takes that as a dismissal and leaves.

*  
Telling Lillie and Hau about Plumeria's apology goes easier than telling Gladion. Hau, of course, accepts her apology and when Moon calls Lillie about Plumeria's apology, she's cautious but willing to accept it as well. Moon is busy observing some Pokemon when a throat clears. She looks up to see Gladion. “I'm not going to be friends with Plumeria,” he says bluntly. “But I did accept her apology.”

“No one said you have to be friends with her,” Moon says. A small naive thinks about how Team Skull is reforming and how Mallow has offered some of the members a second chance, but it's not her place to tell Gladion what to do. Instead she looks over at the Pokemon. Moon speaks her thoughts out loud. “Do you know what I love about science? I love how it's all about learning how things work. It's amazing. Do you have any idea how many experiments have happened because someone was just observing something and wondered about it? I just love how it's a movement to learn more and how we're never done learning. I mean, look at fairy Pokemon. People discovered a new type of Pokemon. And now we have Ultra Beasts and different worlds.”

Moon stops talking, embarrassed. She doesn't mean to reveal so much to Gladion. She knows he doesn't like it when she babbles, but she can't stop the words from spilling out. She makes eye contact to see that Gladion is looking at her with an expression that's less annoyed than she would have thought. 

“Thank you,” Gladion says suddenly, and Moon can only stare. What is Gladion thanking her for? She just babbled about science and she doesn't really know much about Gladion, but Moon doesn't think he's a science enthusiast. Or maybe he is. “What for?” Moon asks, keeping her voice light.

Gladion doesn't answer. He opens and closes his mouth. Then he speaks. The words are halting. “Just-for helping Lillie.”

“You don't have to thank me,” Moon says automatically. “I would have done it for anyone. But it is sweet that you keep an eye out for your sister. Have you heard from her recently? I'm afraid I've fallen a bit behind on talking to her. I hope she isn't too upset.”

Gladion smirks a tiny bit. “Lillie isn't the type to hold grudges,” he says, and Moon relaxes. There's just been so much to do at Aether that the most she can do is think about telling Lillie what's going on. During projects she'll make note of things she wants to tell Lillie and questions she wants to ask, but she can't bring herself to actually call or write Lillie. Even the call to tell Lillie about Plumeria was brief. She hopes she and Lillie have the type of friendship where distance doesn't matter and they can settle back into an easy camaraderie when they speak again.

“Moon,” Gladion speaks abruptly, “I wanted to thank you for helping me as well.” He holds up a hand and Moon stops for a moment. “And don't say you would have done it for anyone. I know that. But I'm still grateful.” Something warm blossoms in Moon's chest. She touches Gladion's hand and draws back before he can stiffen. She remembers how suspicious Gladion was when they first met.

“Well, since you said not to, I won't say I would have done it for anyone,” Moon replies. “But it wasn't any problem helping you out. I'm glad I could have helped.” Gladion says nothing. Moon doesn't see the need to fill the silence and continues observing the Pokemon. As she does, she writes down a few questions. Sometimes the questions will come to her out of nowhere and she'll have to write them down or risk forgetting them. The question that springs to her mind now is what would happen if an Alolan Pokemon and a Kanto Pokemon bred? She also wonders how certain Kanto Pokemon would adapt to the Alolan climate. She knows that some Pokemon adapt better than others. Then again, Moon has read enough about invasive species to know that she shouldn't just introduce a Pokemon to a new environment.

Gladion speaks abruptly. “Remember what you said about not having to forgive someone?” he asks.

Moon nods and waits for Gladion to continue. After a few moments, he does. 

“I'm still angry at my mom.” Moon pauses at that. She feels a flush of shame to realize that she hasn't really asked after Lusamine after the initial diagnosis that she would be fine. She doesn't know why she didn't ask. She should have. “How's she doing?” Moon asks. Gladion shrugs.

“She's doing fine, physically. The traces of the toxins were removed and she's in a facility recovering. We're still not sure about her standing trial. We aren't sure how much the toxins were influencing her behavior, but even without the toxins....” Gladion doesn't say anything more and Moon understands. Even without the toxins she was still engaged in illegal activity. Moon tries to think of what to say to Gladion. Is she supposed to comfort him? Does he want her to say anything or is he just venting? It's nice that Gladion is reaching out to her, but as horrible as it may sound, it was easier dealing with his physical wounds. She knew what to do then. But now Moon doesn't know the right thing to do.

Eventually Moon asks what Gladion is going to do about his mom. Gladion sighs. “I don't know. Lillie has been writing to her.” Moon blinks in shock. How did she not know that? She might have been busy with the Aether Foundation, but that's not a reason to fall behind with her friends. “How's that working out for Lillie?” Moon asks. 

There's a hint of something sardonic in Gladion's voice as he answers. “It's working out fine for Lillie.”

“You don't want Lillie to forgive Lusamine?” Moon asks. When Gladion doesn't answer for a moment, Moon flounders and wonders if she crossed a line from genuinely curious and trying to understand to rude. 

“Lusamine hurt me,” Gladion says. “She hurt me, and she hurt Null, and she hurt Lillie. I can't forgive her for that. But Lillie is reaching out to her.”

“You and Lillie are different people,” Moon points out. She tries to keep her voice gentle. “Is Lillie asking you to forgive Lusamine?” 

“No.” They sit in silence for a few minutes as Moon jots down a couple of notes. She wonders how the Ultra Beasts toxins work. It would be amazing to study them, but there haven't been any Ultra Beasts sightings in a while. When Gladion speaks, Moon can hear the frustration in his voice. “I just don't think I'm ready to forgive Lusamine for what she's done.” 

“No one's forcing you to,” Moon says. “I meant what I said about forgiving someone before you're ready. No one should force you to do that.”

“But how do you know if you're ready to forgive someone?” Gladion asks. His voice is soft. Moon wants to reach out and hug him, but refrains. She struggles to think of an answer. “I don't know,” she admits. “I mean, I'm not the type to hold grudges. Not that I think you're holding a grudge. You have every right to be wary. It's just that no one has ever done anything really horrible to me. I know, I know, I sound like a spoiled brat. Maybe knowing when to forgive someone is like knowing when you are in love. Mom always said it's hard to explain when you're in love. She says it's just something you'll know.”

Gladion gives Moon an unimpressed look. “So I'm just supposed to magically know when I'm supposed to forgive my mother. Thanks for the advice.” But a few moments later, he smiles at her. It's a fleeting smile, but it's still there and Moon counts that as something. 

*  
Moon finally buckles down to write to Lillie. She sends a quick email. Hi, Lillie! How are you? I'm really, really sorry I haven't been writing to you. I've just been busy with the Aether Foundation, which is a bad excuse, I know. Things are going along really well. We've already rehomed a few abandoned Pokemon, which is such a great feeling. We also have a good bit of volunteers helping out. It's really nice to see so much support from the community. What are you up to? Have you been battling a lot?Did you catch any Pokemon? How's Nebby doing?

Moon had so much more she wanted to say, but she's drawing a blank. She had a long list of things to tell Lillie, things she's written down, but she doesn't have her list and she can't remember what she wanted to tell her. Moon debates whether or not to save her email as a draft, because she knows the second she sends the email she'll remember six more things to tell Lillie, but she's already been out of contact with Lillie long enough. Then Moon remembers that she hasn't written Erika in a while either and groans. It's official. She sucks at keeping in contact with her friends. Hopefully they'll forgive her or they've accepted that she'll go for weeks without contact before popping up and resurfacing, like a scientific phenomenon that only comes every few years. 

*  
Moon is wondering how Gloom would adapt to the climate in Alola. She's pretty sure their saliva would do wonders for the soil and that could help with the mushrooms on a Paras's back. Maybe she can get saliva sent to Alola? They have machines that can transport Pokemon to different regions; surely they can do the same for a vial? No, that might not be safe. But maybe she could transport a Gloom over and get the saliva. Moon doesn't think it would wreak that much havoc on the environment. And Gloom should adjust well enough.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Gladion. Moon has never really understood the phrase “so tense they couldn't snap in half,” but Gladion is providing her with a visual representation. His hands are clenched into fists and Moon wonders if he's bleeding. Then she wonders what could have upset him so much. Gladion doesn't seem inclined to tell her, though. He sits down beside her. His spine is so stiff, Moon thinks he'll shatter. She can see him trembling. She hasn't seen Gladion this upset since Lillie was kidnapped. No, he was more upset then. But what could have happened to upset him so much? Moon runs through possibilities in her head. For a minute she thinks that something might be wrong with Lillie, but she dismisses the thought. If anything was wrong with Lillie, Gladion would tell her right away and not waste time.

“Talk to me,” Gladion demands. 

Moon can only stare. “W-what?” she sputters. 

Gladion gestures impatiently. “Talk to me,” he demands again. About Kanto or your experiments.” When Moon still doesn't comply, he adds, “please.” in a soft voice. It's the tone of his voice that undoes her. Gladion isn't looking at Moon. In fact, he's very carefully looking away from her. Moon takes a deep breath and begins to talk. In the back of her mind she's wondering why Gladion is asking her to tell her about her experiments. As Moon talks about Gloom and soil properties, she sees Gladion's posture relaxed bit by bit. Eventually his posture becomes less tense.

“Thank you,” Gladion says softly. 

Moon nods. Gladion looks at her with a gentle look in his eyes. Moon has no idea how to deal with this. She's used to Gladion being closed off. Now all of a sudden he's opening up to her about his life and asking her to tell him about her experiments. She feels like she's been struggling with a stubborn latch on a door and all of a sudden it just opens and she falls inside. 

“So, have you finally come to admit that science and plants are awesome?” Moon asks. “Have I converted you to the dark side of science and experiments? Because I have to tell you, as fun as I think being a mad scientist would be, there's actually very little of that. I mean, I guess I could use electric Pokemon to harness the power of lightning and animate corpses, but that's really unethical and I don't know where to find corpses. Well, okay, there's the graveyard, but I kind of frown upon gravedigging.” She was babbling. Moon knew she was babbling. She sounded like an idiot. Her only hope was to pray that Gladion would leave or to find a way to distract him.

Gladion speaks. “I went to visit Lusamine today.” Moon starts and swings her head to look at Gladion. His face is blank, betraying nothing. Moon decides to wait Gladion out. He speaks again. “I thought...” he pauses to run his hand through his hair. “I don't know what I thought.”

Moon reaches out to touch his back and then pulls her hand back when Gladion stiffens. Right. She keeps forgetting that Gladion doesn't like to be touched. To avoid temptation, she folds her hands in her lap. “So it didn't go well?” Moon prompts.

“It didn't go at all,” Gladion bites out. “I got there and I couldn't even say anything to her. I thought it was the right time. I thought I could tell her how I felt.”

“Maybe it just wasn't the right time to tell her,”Moon suggests gently.

“I don't know why I even bother,” Gladion bites out. “It wouldn't change anything.” 

“Have you asked Lillie how she felt after confronting Lusamine?” Moon asks. Gladion hunches in on himself and shakes his head no. They sit in silence for a few minutes before Gladion clears his throat. “Thanks,” he mutters. He doesn't make eye contact with her. Moon thinks she hasn't really done anything of note. It's not like when she can patch up his Pokemon. She knows she's helping then. But when Gladion confides in her about his upbringing, there's nothing she can do to make it better. She can't seem to find the right words to say. Moon hopes that just listening can help Gladion, but she doesn't think that it's enough.

“Have you tried writing a letter?” Moon suggests. “Maybe it will be easier to express yourself that way. Lillie's writing to her, right?” Gladion looks thoughtful.

*  
Lillie writes back to Moon. Moon opens up her email to see a picture of a beaming Lillie along with a Clefairy and Rattata. Moon reads the message. Hi, Moon! I miss you so much. I'm sorry I haven't been in contact much, either. My Pokemon journey is going well. It was a little lonely at first and I missed you. I keep seeing all these plants and thinking about how you would know what they are. As you can see in the photo, I caught a Rattata and a Clefairy. I caught Rattata first. That's not entirely true. I was eating lunch and Rattata came to raid my camp. Nebby scared it off, but I felt bad and offered it some food. Rattata joined up with us. 

I actually did battle with Rattata to catch Clefairy. It was exhilarating! I can't tell you how proud I am that I actually caught a Pokemon. I think I'll challenge the gyms once I get stronger. It'll be interesting to see how the gym challenge compares to the island challenge. Another thing that's funny is that I keep forgetting that Kanto Pokemon are a different type than Alola Pokemon. How are things with you? Is everything okay with Gladion? He hasn't mentioned anything when he writes to me, but I think he just doesn't want me to worry.

Moon can't keep the grin off her face as she sees the picture of Lillie. It's so nice to see Lillie happy and smiling. Moon rereads the email, taking mental notes of the things she needs to respond to. She begins to write. Hi, Lillie! It's really great that you caught some Pokemon. Have you been battling a lot with Nebby? If you send me photos of the plants I can tell you what they are. As far as I know, Gladion's fine. He hasn't been injured as far as I'm aware. Then again, I'm pretty sure he's the type to hide his injuries. And I did teach him how to administer first aid, so maybe he decided to patch himself up if anything happened to him.  
Then again, he has been opening up to me more. He actually asked me to tell him about my day. 

Moon pauses for a moment. She doesn't know if Gladion's conflicted feeling about his mother are supposed to be a secret. Should she mention them to Lillie? Is it supposed to be a secret? Moon is reasonably sure that Lillie knows Gladion is angry at their mother. Moon settles for asking in her email, I heard you were writing to your mother. How is that working out for you? Gladion's been talking to me about writing to her. Have you talked to him about reconciliation with her? He's been asking me advice and I've just been telling him, 'do what feels right for you,'. Good luck with the gym battles.

*  
For a while Moon doesn't see much of Gladion. Moon doesn't think much of it. She knows he has a busy schedule. In fact, they all have a busy schedule. When she's able to talk to Hau, Hau mentions how he's constantly being challenged in order to defend his title. He's also spoken about how his training to be the next Kahuna is going. It sounds difficult, but enjoyable. Moon hopes one day they can catch up. 

For her part, Moon is busy with the injured Pokemon and her experiments. At the moment, she's currently patching up an injured Bounsweet. Comfey floats next to her, using Floral Healing. The Pokemon had nearly been swallowed whole by a Toucannon. Moon thinks it's kind of counterproductive to have a Pokemon emit a scent that makes them smell appealing as a means of self defense. It would make more sense for them to release an unpleasant aroma to scare away predators. Moon chalks this up to another one of life's mysteries that she will have to investigate. As she's making a note to write to Erika and tell her about how Bounsweet can be used as an air freshener because of its sweet scent, Gladion walks in.

“This is becoming a habit,” Moon says cheerfully. “You keep coming to see me like this, and I'll begin to think you enjoy my company.” Gladion rolls his eyes, but Moon can see a corner of a smile tugging at his mouth. “So did you need something?” Moon asks. There's a pause.

“What makes you think I need something?” Gladion asks.

“You always come to me if you need something.” Then Moon remembers that isn't entirely accurate. “Okay, the first few times I saw you needing my help and helped you out despite your protests.”

“I don't mean to be a bother,” Gladion isn't looking at her. His spine is stiff. Moon's heart drops. She waves her hands around frantically. “You aren't a bother!” Moon hastens to reassure him. Why was she such an idiot? Gladion had just been opening up to her and now she might have set back their relationship. Gladion still isn't talking. Moon wishes she knew what to say. She decides to just go with her instincts and hope she doesn't mess this up anymore.

“I mean it. You aren't a bother. In fact, I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me about how things are going for you and if you need help. I just have no idea what to say, but I want you to know that you can always come to me and I'll do my best to help you.” Gladion still doesn't say anything. Moon waits a few moments, her mind racing with things she can say to make this better. 

“It has to go both ways,” Gladion speaks abruptly. Moon has no idea what he means by that. Gladion seems to struggle for a moment and then forces the words out of his mouth. “You have to tell me things, too.”

Moon furrows her brow. “I tell you things,” she points out to him. “I just thought you didn't like me telling you things.”

“No,” Gladion snaps, clenching his fists. He takes several deep breaths. “I meant, you have to tell me when something is bothering you.” Moon isn't exactly sure why Gladion would want her to tell him if something is bothering her, but agreeing won't do any harm. Once Gladion sees her nod her head, he relaxes. Moon feels herself relaxing as well and she hopes that whatever misunderstanding they had is cleared up.

“Do you know that Bounsweet's sweat can be used to make a juice?” Moon asks, and laughs at the disgusted look on Gladion's face. “It's not the worst thing I've ever heard. Maybe just try not to think about it, like how I went through a phase where I had to try and not think about how blue cheese was technically bacteria. I know that not all bacteria is harmful but at that point all I could think about was sore throats and runny noses.” 

“Moon, do me a favor. If you ever give me a remedy involving a Pokemon's sweat, don't mention it to me.” Moon laughs. The silence this time is less tense and Moon doesn't anxiously think of things to say to fill it. “I went to see Lusamine again.” Gladion's voice breaks the silence. Moon turns to look at him. His posture is loose, so Moon takes that as a good sign. 

“How did it go?” she asks.

“It went better than the last time,” he says. “I actually managed to talk to her. I wrote a letter and then once I had the words out, it was easier to say them out loud. Does that makes sense?”

“Sure it does. What did she say?”

“I told her she wasn't a very good mother. She didn't say anything for a minute, but she asked if she could try and make it up to me.”

“What did you say?”

“I said she could try.”

Moon thinks back about what Gladion said about new beginnings. She thinks about how Lillie is going on a Pokemon journey and Team Skull has reformed. She remembers how much happier Lillie looks now. Moon looks at Gladion. Moon hopes that even if Gladion and Lusamine never become close, their relationship will be better and not fraught with tension. It's naive of her, but she believes people can change and become better. “Good luck with that,” Moon tells Gladion, and he smiles at her in response.

Moon is about to leave when Gladion speaks again. “I'm sorry.” For a moment, Moon wonders if she misheard. What does Gladion have to be sorry for? Is he apologizing for confiding in her about Lusamine? Didn't she make it clear that she didn't mind? Maybe she hadn't done a good enough job. “For what?” Moon asks.

“For the way I treated you when we first met.” Right. That was so long ago. Moon remembers how eager she was to see the world. She thinks back to the person she was then and the person she is now and wonders if she's changed. It's easy to see how Lillie has changed, how Gladion has changed. This is proof of it. The Gladion before wouldn't have outright apologized for anything. 

“You didn't treat me badly,” Moon assures Gladion. “You were a little rude, but you weren't the worst person I ever met. You didn't try to rob me or kill me. Then again, I have low standards.”  
Moon is rewarded by Gladion's smile. It's tiny and a bit sarcastic, but it's like seeing the sun peeking out after a week of rain. Gladion makes an odd sort of motion. “It's been nice having you help out at Aether,” he tells Moon. “We're not enemies anymore, but we're not friends either.” 

Disappointment and shock war within Moon. After everything they've been through and after he's started to reach out, it hurts that Gladion doesn't consider her a friend. But that doesn't matter, Moon tells herself. Even if he doesn't consider her a friend, he trusts her enough to come to her about his problems. That's enough for Moon. Moon debates saying something about the whole not being friends thing, but she can't let the enemy thing slide.

“When were we ever enemies?” she asked. 

Gladion glares at her. “You know when,” he snaps, and Moon shakes her head because she honestly doesn't know. Gladion huffs in frustration. “When I was a member of Team Skull,” he tells her, and his tone makes it obvious that she should have figured that part out. Moon thinks back to Team Skull. They were nuisances and criminals, but Moon thinks that calling them an enemy is a bit much. Did Gladion consider her an enemy? The thought is hilarious and flattering. She was a girl who was a poor battler and babbled too much about stuff.

“You considered me an enemy?” Moon wants to know.

“You must have considered me an enemy,” Gladion counters. 

Laughing is probably a bad idea, but it slips out before Moon can help herself. At the look on Gladion's face she tries to control herself. When she gets her laughter under control she manages to gasp out, “Why would I think of you as an enemy?” Gladion remains silent and Moon pokes him with a finger. “Come on, tell me. Why would I?” 

Still silence. Moon rambles on. “Was I supposed to think of you as my enemy? Because I really didn't. Why would I consider you an enemy? What exactly did you do to make me believe that? Was it because you were in Team Skull? I wouldn't classify them as enemies, just public nuisances, until they kidnapped Lillie. And they're trying to do better, and I can respect that. But Team Skull would technically fit into enemy category more than you would.”

Gladion's affronted look is adorable. “You think of Team Skull as an enemy but not me?” Gladion's voice is incredulous. 

“Well, yes. I guess you were a member of Team Skull so ...” Moon trails off. She had a thought in her head, but she's lost it. She continues. “What exactly did you do to make me consider us enemies? All you did was show up and challenge me to a Pokemon battle, but lots of people challenge each other to Pokemon battles. Challenging people to Pokemon battles isn't illegal and is an important part of trainer society. There are probably people way more pushy than you when it comes to challenging people. After that, our encounters were just you being mildly grumpy. It wasn't something I was losing sleep over. I think you're confusing enemy with someone who mildly annoys you. Let's be honest, did you ever consider me an enemy? Like for real?”

Gladion sighs. “I considered you an annoyance,” he admits. Then after a moment he adds, “But an annoyance with useful skills and potential.”

Moon grins at the praise. “But not an enemy?” she teases. 

Gladion rolls his eyes. “No, not an enemy. And you're sure you didn't consider me an enemy?” Moon shakes her head automatically. A tiny smile appears on Gladion's face. “That's good,” he says.

*  
Surprisingly, Gladion has asked Hau and Moon if they want to have lunch. Hau accepts enthusiastically. At the moment, Moon is seated outside of the restaurant, emailing Lillie about how Gladion is actually trying to make friends. She's also asking Lillie about the gym challenge and asking what she thought of the gym leaders if she did challenge the gyms. Her concentration is broken by Hau bounding up, while Gladion follows at a more sedate pace. Moon sends the email and reaches up to hug Hau.

“How are you?” she chirps. “How's being the Champion?” 

“It's incredible!” Hau exclaims, gesturing wildly. “You wouldn't believe all the different trainers that challenge me. It's great. Battling all these challengers really keeps me and my Pokemon on my toes.” Gladion is nodding with a serious look in his eyes. “Have you learned anything from watching the challengers?” he asks, and Hau nods enthusiastically and begins explaining the different moves he's seen the challengers use. “That's one of the great things about Pokemon battles. You get to learn so much, like different ways you can use a Pokemon move.” 

“What about Kahuna business?” Moon asks, as a waitress brings over menus. 

“That's going well,” Hau says. “Grandad is taking me out on business when we both have the time. Sooner or later he'll have me do a task myself. I have to admit, I'm nervous. What if I'm not the Kahuna he is?” 

Moon is about to say something when Gladion beats her to it. “You won't be.” His voice is blunt. “But that doesn't mean you won't be a good Kahuna. You can't spend your time worrying about how someone else would do the job.” Hau remains silent. Gladion continues to speak. “I don't know why you would doubt yourself. You're approachable and you care about the island. And now that you've stopped playing around, you're a halfway decent trainer.”

Hau cocks his brow in a challenge. “Only halfway decent?” he asks, and Gladion smirks in response. Over lunch, Gladion tells them that he'd like for Hau, the Kahunas, and the trial captains to endorse the Aether Foundation. He tells them that a good public image is important. He also says that he thought Hau might like to be a part of the Aether Foundation. Of course, Hau agrees immediately and tells them he'll speak to his grandfather about it. Lunch passes by pleasantly, with Hau telling them about his battles, and Moon telling them about her experiments. Gladion barely talks, but he does interject once in a while with a comment. 

“Let's take a picture,” Moon says, as they leave the restaurant. Gladion grumbles, but he allows Moon to take a selfie without much argument. Moon sends the picture to Lillie with the request that she send pics of her having fun in Kanto.

*  
Hau keeps his word and speaks to Hala about the Aether Foundation. Hala is more than happy to help and Moon and Gladion find themselves looking over proposals for projects. They're in Gladion's office, with Moon curled up on the floor next to Type:Null and Gladion in his chair. “Did helping out with your friend's gym ever prepare you for this?” Gladion asks. Moon realizes that she's been reading a sentence over and over again and puts the paper aside. “Not at all,” she answers Gladion. “This is way more complicated.”

Gladion nods. “Still, these ideas are good. And we don't have a shortage of volunteers.” It thrilled Moon that so many people wanted to help Pokemon and had all these ideas of how to do it. Moon makes a note to herself to contact Erika and Mallow and ask if they can conference call so they can discuss soil and fertilizer.

Moon is absently petting Type: Null as she attempts to think over the project. She has ideas, she knows she does, but she can't think of any right now. She can barely convince herself to keep her eyes open. “You want to go get a coffee?” Gladion asks. “I can't think.” Moon nods. Gladion returns Type: Null to its Pokeball. As they step outside, Moon feels her thoughts beginning to pick up and her energy returning. It was really amazing what getting fresh air could do for perspective. She throws her head back and breathes in the fresh air.

“It's amazing what fresh air and food will do to help you,” she tells Gladion. “There have been so many times I've been upset about something, like an experiment didn't go over well, and I've taken a walk and felt better.”

“I don't think taking a walk or eating food solves all your problems,” Gladion argues, and Moon nods her head. “Of course they don't. But they steady you enough so that you can solve the problem. You know like when you have a problem and you think there's no solution and then you walk away or get some food in you. You still have a problem and it still sucks, but you can think about it clearly now.”

“What if you can't walk away?” Gladion asks quietly. 

“Do the best you can,” Moon answers. When they reach the cafe, Moon orders a cup of hot tea while Gladion orders a cup of black coffee. “I hate coffee,” Moon says, as she and Gladion find seats. 

“I hate tea,” Gladion replies. 

“Tea is better than coffee,” Moon says. “Coffee is way too bitter. And yes, I know you could add sugar, and I have added sugar, but the coffee is still bitter. I added like eight spoons of sugar and all I got was this disgusting bittersweet mess with a sour aftertaste that tastes like an unwashed mouth. Gladion sips at his coffee, but Moon can tell he's smirking. “Tea, on the other hand, does not have a disgusting bitter taste. And tea gives you energy, and unlike coffee you don't get an energy crash.”

Gladion sips at his coffee for a time. “You have to put salt in your coffee.” Moon blinks, unsure of whether or not she heard correctly. Why would Gladion put salt in his coffee? What possible reason would he have for doing so? Her confusion must show on her face because Gladion elaborates, “Salt will cut the bitterness of the coffee.” 

Moon sips at her tea. “How'd you find that out?”

Gladion rolls his eyes. “It was when I was with Team Skull. They decided to prank me by putting salt in my coffee.” Moon rolls her eyes as well. She had no idea people did such childish pranks outside of television. “If you knew it had salt in it, why did you drink the coffee?” Moon asks.

“I wasn't going to let them get the best of me,” Gladion answers, and Moon giggles. She really should have figured that was the motivation. They sip their beverages silently for a time. Moon feels muscles she didn't know were tense relax. “Tell me about the gym challenge,” Gladion asks suddenly. “How is it different from the island challenge?”

“Well, most of the time we have gyms. And usually it's a straightforward gym battle. You know how in the island challenge you'd have to complete tasks like find ingredients or answer questions? You usually don't have to do that with the gym challenge. I mean, the gym leader might set a test or so, but from what I've seen, there are a few trainers you have to challenge before the gym leader. Oh, and they don't have a Totem Pokemon.”

The conversation shifts to Pokemon. Gladion brings up an interesting point about why there are Alolan versions of certain Pokemon like Raticate and Meowth, but not Zubat. They spend a pleasant time discussing theories. To be fair, Moon is waving her arms around and exclaiming, so they leave the cafe and go for a walk, where it's more socially acceptable to wave your arms around and exclaim. “You'll be a researcher yet,” Moon says happily. 

“Maybe.” Gladion pauses. “I had a nice time today.”

“Me too.” Moon goes to bed feeling a warm glow that night.

*  
Moon isn't the type of person to believe in violence. Aside from one or two Pokemon battles (which don't really count) and the battle with Lusamine, Moon has never been in a fight in her life. If the situation with Lusamine had allowed it, Moon would have tried to reason with her. She prefers to heal. But as Moon watches a severely injured Riolu struggle to get up, Moon thinks that she wouldn't mind finding all the poisonous plants she can get and shoving it down their throat. Gladion has only told her a few details when he brought the Riolu to her. She knows that the trainer severely abused Riolu because they thought they could evolve it into a Lucario faster that way.

It's not like Moon hasn't seen injured and abused Pokemon before. Sometimes she can cope. But sometimes she hears stories and she thinks about how senseless it all is. Then Moon feels like yelling and breaking things, but that won't help anything. What she can do now is try and fix what she can. Unfortunately, the Riolu isn't letting anyone near it. It wavers on its feet and Moon wonders if she should just have one of the Pokemon use sleep powder.   
But Gladion approaches. He keeps his movements slow and his voice soft. He talks to the Riolu about nothing in particular. Moon's heart is in her throat. She doesn't even dare to breathe loudly, afraid to interrupt. Sometimes the hardest part of an experiment is waiting. Slowly, slowly, Riolu begins to relax. Gladion begins to treat the Riolu's wounds. Seeing Gladion be so gentle with another Pokemon makes something in Moon's heart bloom.

After Gladion finishes treating Riolu, Moon looks over his work. Pride swells in her and she beams at Gladion. “You did a good job,” Moon congratulates him. 

“I had a good teacher.” Gladion's voice is matter of fact, but Moon still feels warmth fill her. Her smile fades when Gladion shifts his position and then winces. His hands clutch his side. “Are you hurt?” Moon demands. “And don't you even think about lying to me.” 

“It's nothing,” Gladion grunts, and Moon sighs because expecting Gladion to actually tell her when she was injured might have been expecting too much. She'd just assumed that since he spoke to her and Hau more he might tell them when he was injured, but they couldn't have it all.

“What happened? Did something happen with Null?” Gladion generally didn't like to mention when Type: Null attacked despite Moon telling him numerous times that she was happy to treat him and she wouldn't treat Type: Null any differently. Gladion shakes his head. “I'm fine,” he insists. “I can handle it.”

Moon wants to reach out and touch Gladion but refrains. “You don't have to handle it alone,” she tells Gladion. “I can help.” 

Gladion reaches out and touches her shoulder. The movement is so quick Moon thinks she imagined it. “I know you can,” Gladion says. “But I'm really fine. You taught me how to take care of myself, remember?”

“That was not a free pass for you to get injured,” Moon exclaims.

Gladion levels her with an unimpressed look. “Tell me, which one of us has injected themselves with Pokemon venom numerous times?” he asks dryly.

“That was in the name of science!” Moon protests. “You have to go hard or go home.” Gladion's raised eyebrow makes it pretty obvious that he isn't buying what she's saying. Moon pouts for a bit before insisting she look at Gladion's wound for old times sake. Gladion has treated his wound properly, Moon is relieved to see. Still, she reminds him of how to brew a pain relief potion.

Later that day, Gladion tells Moon how he got the Riolu. He'd been in the Pokemon center delivering potions and chatting with Nurse Joy. He'd heard the trainer bragging. “He was bragging,” Gladion spits out, his hands curling into fists. “He was bragging about leaving an injured Pokemon on the side of the road because it wasn't strong enough.” Gladion is trembling. “Riolu is safe now,” Moon assures Gladion, although its to reassure herself as well. “You went and rescued it.” Gladion nods, but his trembling doesn't ease up. “You did a good job with Riolu,” Moon says. 

Gladion casts a stark look at Moon. “I've had practice.” Moon remembers what she'd learned about Type: Null. It suddenly hits her how Gladion and Lillie protected injured and abused Pokemon by themselves when they must have been so scared. Her heart swells with love. “You and Lillie are amazing.”

“You know what I hate about trainers like that?” Gladion asks, giving no indication that he'd heard Moon. He doesn't wait for an answer. “I hate trainers who want power but don't want to work for it. It's like-” he swallows and looks away. “I just hate trainers like that. They don't bother to work with their Pokemon at all. Do you know what my favorite part about raising a Pokemon is?” 

“No, what?” 

“It's getting to know them. One day you and this Pokemon are strangers, but then you begin to know each other. One day you wake up and you realize you and your Pokemon will always have each other's backs.”

“That's beautiful,” Moon murmurs. Her voice is only a little choked up. Whenever she's confronted by how despicable some trainers are, she'll remember Gladion and Lillie and what they did for their Pokemon. She'll remember the volunteers they have for the new Aether Foundation and remind herself that people can be good.

*  
Riolu becomes Gladion's constant companion. It's not unusual to see Riolu at Gladion's heels as he does his rounds at the Foundation. Riolu still won't let anyone but Gladion approach it. “I'm hoping that if Riolu sees I trust people, they'll trust them as well,” Gladion explains.

“I thought if Pokemon trusted people that meant the trainers would trust them,” Moon muses. 

“It might go both ways,” Gladion suggests. Moon thinks it over. They're in Gladion's office. Gladion is reading a letter and Moon is attempting to read a scientific journal. Type: Null has decided that she should play fetch with it. Moon wonders how she got suckered into this, but Gladion just says its because she's too soft-hearted. Moon doesn't have a rebuttal. Comfey is perched comfortably on her head and Leafeon is asleep at her side. Phantump is on the grounds playing with the Pokemon and volunteers. “I'm sorry about my Pokemon taking over your office,” Moon says, but Gladion waves a hand in dismissal. Still, Moon thinks that it would be better to play fetch outside and calls to Type: Null. She glances at Gladion for permission but he just nods. “I'll keep an eye on Leafeon,” he says, and Moon nods.

“Were you able to sucker Gladion into playing fetch with you?” Moon asks as she tosses the ball to Type: Null. “It's kind of funny imagining Gladion playing fetch.” It was also funny how Type: Null enjoyed playing fetch. Or maybe it wasn't. Moon remembers what she read about Type: Null. Those researchers had never treated it like a living, breathing Pokemon, just an experiment that got out of control. “What do you think comes first?” Moon asks Type: Null. “Does a trainer trust someone because they sense their Pokemon trusts them, or do Pokemon trust someone because they sense their trainers trusts them? Personally, I think trainers trust their Pokemon's judgment first. After all, Pokemon can sense if someone is trustworthy, can't you?” She gives Type: Null a scratch. 

Gladion finds them like this later. Leafeon is cradled in his arms. Type: Null sees its trainer and goes bounding towards Gladion. Moon's heart swells. There are few sights sweeter than a Pokemon happy to see its trainer. Mindful of Leafeon in his arms, Type: Null prances alongside Gladion until he gently deposits Leafeon into Moon's arms. Type: Null takes the opportunity to tackle Gladion. It lets up pretty quickly when it sees that Gladion is injured, but remains close.

*  
Gladion is smiling. That's the first thing Moon registers as he comes running up to her. He's actually smiling. Not a tiny little smile, not a smirk, but a full, excited smile. His eyes are bright. “What's going on?” Moon asks laughing. She can't help it. Gladion's happiness is contagious. Gladion opens his mouth a few times before shaking his head. “Just watch,” he orders, and tossed a Pokeball. There's a flash of light and a Pokemon Moon doesn't recognize is standing before her. For a moment Moon wonders if Gladion discovered a new Pokemon, but she sees the way the Pokemon remains close to Gladion's side and the realization hits. 

“Is that- is that Null?” Moon whispers. 

Gladion nods. “It evolved. When Type: Null finds a trainer it trusts, it destroys its mask and becomes Silvally.” Gladion's voice wavers. His hands tremble as he pats his new Pokemon. The words take a moment to register, but then the enormity of what Gladion has said hits Moon. Before she can stop herself, she's launching herself at Gladion. Gladion freezes for a moment and Moon springs back. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” she exclaims. “I'm so sorry!”

Gladion furrows his brow. “Why are you sorry? Are you sorry about Type: Null evolving?” 

“No.” Moon waves her hands back and forth. “I'm sorry about hugging you. I know you don't like to be touched. I just got so excited-”

Gladion cuts her off. “I don't have a problem with being touched.”

“But you...” 

Gladion looks away. “I don't have a problem with being touched,” he repeats. “I just...I'm not used...” his voice trails off. Silvally presses against Gladion's side in comfort. Moon can only stare. Of course. How could she have gotten it so wrong? She can't imagine Lusamine or Team Skull would hug Gladion a lot. “Gladion,” Moon asks quietly, “can I hug you?” Gladion nods sharply. Moon carefully wraps Gladion in her arms, wishing she could hug him for every time someone should have hugged him. Gladion tenses for a moment and then goes boneless in her arms. They stay like that for a few moments until Silvally insists on joining the hug. Gladion eventually disentangles himself and begins explaining how Silvally can change its type. “What does this mean for the other Pokemon in the project?” Moon asks.

“I'm hoping the scientists will be able to unfreeze the other Type:Null. I'll be consulting with them later.” 

“That's amazing!” Moon exclaims. “I'm so proud of you!” 

Gladion smiles, then his expression turns serious. “If we managed to remove them from stasis I want you to take care of a Type: Null.” Moon opens her mouth to say something, but Gladion holds up a hand to forestall her. “Please, Moon. These Pokemon need love. I know you'll take care of them.” When he puts it like that, there's no way she can refuse. Moon nods. Gladion relaxes for a moment. The next moment he's all business and telling her everything he can about his experience with raising Type: Null. 

“It should be easier for you,” Gladion tells Moon with a self-deprecating smile. “You can raise your Type: Null in a nice facility instead of in the wild like I did.”

“I only hope I can raise my Type:Null as well as you did,” Moon says. Gladion begins to turn away, but Moon places a hand on his shoulder. “Look at me.” Gladion looks. “No one could have done a better job at raising Type:Null than you did. You didn't have anyone to help you, but you did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. I wish I could be as brave as you one day.”

Gladion rests his hand on Moon's shoulder. “You're already brave,” he assures her. Moon smiles and leans against him. “Is this how you feel when you make medicine?” Gladion asks suddenly. “I look around at all these projects we have going on and the Pokemon we're helping and I just feel so...content. Is this how you feel?”

“Sure it is! There's nothing more satisfying than learning new things and being a part of something that helps others.”

“I never really thought I could enjoy something like this,” Gladion muses. “I've never really enjoyed anything in my life.”

“That can't be true,” Moon protests. She refuses to believe that Gladion went through life without finding at least one thing that he enjoyed. “What about Pokemon battles?” Gladion shakes his head. “Pokemon battles were something I had to do to survive. I wasn't thinking about enjoyment.” Moon's heart hurts at that. She cuddles closer to Gladion, wanting to take his horrible childhood away. “What about now? She asks. “Now that you aren't on the run, why not have a battle where there are no stakes? You might like battling. Didn't Hau challenge you a while ago?”

Gladion hums thoughtfully. “He did. It would be exciting to battle him now that he's gotten stronger.” He turns to Silvally. “What do you say Silvally? Up for a battle with Hau?” Silvally barks in agreement.

*  
It's like a switch flipped loose in Gladion with Silvally's evolution. He laughs more, jokes more. He tells Moon about his favorite books and movies. “I spoke to my mom the other day,” he tells Moon. “I told her about Silvally.” He pauses. “She said she's proud of me. Is it messed up that I'm happy? After all she's done, I'm still happy she's proud of me.” 

“It's not like she's proud of you because you killed someone or burned an orphanage,” Moon jokes. “I don't think it's wrong to be happy she's proud of you.” 

“I just feel like a hypocrite,” Gladion confesses. “I spent all these years thinking that I didn't care about getting her approval, but I'm happy that she's proud of me.” Moon puts her arm around him and Gladion leans into her touch. For a moment, Moon doesn't say anything as she thinks over her answer. It was so different with her family. Parental pride was something to be coveted without shame. She knew that her parents would be proud of her and support her. It was as constant as the seasons changing. 

“Maybe just because you weren't looking for something means you can't be happy when you find it,” Moon suggests. “Like let's say you win a random drawing that someone entered you in without your knowledge. You weren't expected to win, but you're happy you did anyway. Does that make sense?”

“It makes as much sense as your usual ramblings.” 

Moon rolls her eyes. “So the visits with your mom are going better?” she asks. 

“Yes. We really haven't spoken in depth about what she did. Mostly we just talk about Aether Foundation or how she's holding up.”

“How is she doing? What's going to happen to her?” 

“She tells me she's doing okay, but they still have to monitor for any ill effects. As for a trial, they're discussing house arrest or maybe community service. It's a bit up in the air because they still aren't sure how much the toxins really influence someone's behavior. Did you know it takes a long time to prepare for a trial?” 

Moon shakes her head. “Does Lillie know?”

“I haven't told her. I don't know if Lusamine would have told her. I don't ask what Lillie writes to Lusamine. I don't want to intrude.” 

Moon nods. “I want you to know that I'm here for you and Lillie no matter what.” 

Gladion nods. “I know,” he says simply, and that warms Moon's heart.

*  
Lillie writes to Moon to tell her that she won her first gym badge. Moon stops reading to do a little fist pump. Then she returns to the letter. Neither Rattata or Clefairy were a match against Brock's rock Pokemon, so she had to find either a grass or a water Pokemon. Lillie says that she found a Bellsprout on Route 5. She tells Moon that she read that Bellsprout is thought to be a legendary mandrake plant. It can also spit a corrosive fluid that can melt iron. Moon immediately makes a note to get a Bellsprout. Although she isn't going to be dumb enough to expose herself to fluid strong enough to melt iron. She'd do anything for science, but she won't do that. 

Moon continues to read the email. Lillie wins the rematch. Moon makes a note to ask why Nebby doesn't battle. She reads further to see that Lusamine has been in contact with Lillie. So that answers Moon's question. She immediately begins to write a reply to Lillie. 

CONGRATULATIONS! I'm so proud of you. You have to come visit in Alola and bring that Bellsprout. I can't believe they can spit a fluid strong enough to melt iron. I have to test it out. I didn't know that about Bellsprout. I lived in Kanto all my life and I'm friends with a grass gym leader, but I had no idea about Bellsprout. This is like finding a door in your house that leads to a magical land, except without the trauma of having to save a magical land from an evil witch or having a doppelganger of your mom sew buttons into your eyes. How are you doing with Lusamine? Are your talks going well? I don't know if Gladion told you, but he's speaking to her as well, and things seem to be going well. I miss you. Write back soon.

*  
Moon spends most of her time helping with injured Pokemon on the grounds. Sometimes, though, she'll go out with a rescue team to provide medical assistance. She's been briefed about the Pokemon's injuries and what she needs to bring. Thankfully the Pokemon is in pretty good shape. It's nothing a few days of potions and rest can't cure. 

Later, when she looks back on the situation with a clear head, Moon is never quite sure what made her turn. Maybe it was instinct. But all Moon knows now is that the hairs on the back of her neck are standing up. She whirls around to see a Pokemon standing before her. It looks like an origami of a human. It's red and white and slender. Moon can feel her heart in the throat. She doesn't dare to breathe or move. She hasn't seen this Pokemon. She doesn't know what to do. Please go away, she pleads silently. Please. 

If they stay still and silent, the Pokemon might go away. Moon thinks over and over, “You aren't interested in us. Go away.” The Pokemon might be psychic. Moon wonders if she should battle the Pokemon, but she has no idea how strong it is and the Pokemon isn't doing anything threatening. Any minute now, the Pokemon will leave, they'll go back to Aether Foundation. Moon is beginning to think thing will be okay when the Pokemon in her arms lets out a cry.

It happens almost too fast for Moon to register. She sees a blur of color in her peripheral vision and twists to shield the Pokemon. Moon stumbles to her knees, the Pokemon clutched in her arms. Moon grabs Incineroar's Pokeball and throws it. “Protect the others!” she orders. Incineroar takes one look at Moon and roars, launching at the Pokemon. Moon blinks at this. Why is Incineroar so upset? Did something happen? Moon becomes aware that the rescue team is speaking to her. She turns her head slowly. Why does she feel so tired? Slowly, slowly, the words penetrate her skull. They're talking about putting pressure on something. Put pressure on what? 

Part of Moon's mind thinks that maybe her brain is trying to protect her from what's going on. Her heart is thudding rapidly. Incineroar still hasn't landed a hit. The Pokemon dodges attacks like a leaf on the wind. The others are talking to her. They're telling her to stay with them. Stay with them? Where would she go? Why are they saying that? One of them is pressing something against her and the other is frantically dialing a phone. That's good. They're calling for help.

Moon suddenly feels something wet. She wonders what it is and glances down. Her shirt is red. That's not right, Moon thinks. I didn't put on a red shirt today. I put on a....a...Moon can't remember what color shirt she had on, but she knows it wasn't red. The pieces hit her like a Pokemon landing a critical hit on its opponent. “I got cut, didn't I?” As she says those words, Moon's heart speeds up and her breathing becomes rapid. She isn't sure if that's because she's scared or a symptom of blood loss.

Does she have blood loss potions in her bag? Moon wonders. Someone should have blood loss potions in their bags. They carry around first aid kits with basic potions for blood loss, burn, cuts, bruises, etc. One of the rescue team is shoving a potion down her throat. When did he become a mind reader? Moon wonders. “You're going to be okay,” he says, and Moon wonders if she sounds like that when she talks to injured Pokemon. Is that what she sounds like when she patches up Gladion? But Gladion is doing better now. He's not getting injured. It looks like the shoe was on the other foot now. Gladion was going to laugh. Moon has to go see Gladion to tell him what happened. Why aren't they going to see Gladion?

Right. Incineroar is battling a Pokemon. Why is Incineroar battling a Pokemon? Moon can't keep her eyes open all of a sudden. She wants to take a nap. Why does she feel so tired? Someone is saying something to her, but Moon can't tell what they're saying? Is she going deaf? She opens her mouth to speak, to make sure she isn't deaf, but her mouth won't move. Did she forget how to talk? Moon can't keep her eyes open.

Incineroar suddenly lands a hit. Incineroar roars in triumph and the Pokemon roars in agony as it's engulfed in a fiery inferno. Incineroar doesn't let up. Moon should tell Incineroar to stop. Her eyes close. When she opens them, she's on the floor in her bedroom. When did she get here?Wasn't there something about a Pokemon? It was probably just a dream. Yeah, that was it, she had a dream and she fell out of bed. Moon should get back in bed, but the floor is a perfectly comfortable place to sleep. She's camped in forests before; she can survive sleeping on the floor. Moon closes her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have taken artistic liberties with the medical information and reactions with trauma.

Chapter 4

Moon's dreams are strange and disturbing. She dreams of flying, but it's not the kind of flying she dreamed of, the kind of flying where she would step into the sky and just soar. No, this flying feels like being tossed about in a storm. And then she finds herself on a spaceship. Moon can hear voices yelling and then she feels herself being placed on a bed. Why is she on a bed? It comes to her that they must be trying to do experiments on her. Someone is asking her something, but Moon can't make sense of the words. She's been abducted by aliens. No wonder she can't understand their speech. The aliens are placing something over her face. Moon feels a slight trickle of panic, but it feels like she's feeling it outside of her body. She should do something. She should fight, but she can't move.

When Moon wakes up, she's barely aware of anything. She feels like she's floating, but not the pleasant kind of floating like floating in the ocean on a hot summer day. It feels like she's been disconnected from her body. The realization slams into Moon that she isn't in her room. Panic fills her and she begins to struggle. Why isn't she in her room? What happened? But Moon's limbs don't cooperate. Why does her body keep betraying her? Hands smooth her hair back from her face and a voice murmurs something. Moon doesn't recognize the voice, but some instinct tells her she's safe and she finds herself relaxing. 

The next time Moon wakes up, she's aware of two things. The first thing is that she's cold. Isn't Alola supposed to be warm? Her mom had gone on and on about the warm tropical air. This was false advertising. The second thing is that she has a sore throat. Is she coming down with the cold? Moon lifts a hand to rub at her throat (she isn't sure why, rubbing it has never cured her sore throats) when she feels a hand pressing down on hers. Moon looks to the side to see her mom. Her mom is pale with dark circles under her eyes. Moon opens her mouth to ask her mom what's wrong when she realizes there's something in her mouth. There's something in her mouth. Why is something in her mouth? She has to get it out.

Before Moon can yank the thing out of her mouth, a man strides into the room and is speaking softly to her. He instructs her on how to remove the tube. That's better. Why did she have a tube in her mouth? The man smiles at her. “Hello, Moon. I'm Dr. Alexander. How are you feeling?”

“Cold and my throat hurts.” Even answering that question makes her throat ache. The doctor nods. “ The sore throat is probably an effect of the breathing tube. The chills are probably an effect of the anesthesia,” he says. Moon stares. Anesthesia was for surgeries. When did she have surgery? “Did the aliens give me anesthesia?” Moon asks. “I think they were going to dissect me. I couldn't understand what they were saying.” Moon's mom and the doctor exchange glances. Moon's mom places a hand on Moon's shoulder. “Moon, what do you remember, sweetie?” she asks, her voice gentle.

“Flying through a storm,” Moon answers. Something tugs at her mind. She sees images in her head, but she can't make sense of them. No, one image stands out. Incineroar is roaring and attacking a Pokemon. Did they have a battle? Why can't she remember? Moon's mom looks alarmed, but Dr. Alexander shakes his head. “Don't worry,” he assures her. “Memory loss is also common with anesthesia.” He turns to Moon. “You'll get your memory back soon enough.”

Moon sinks back on the bed. She's injured. She's injured badly enough to need anesthesia. What was she doing? She's been reckless before, but she's never been so injured to need to get anesthesia. What experiment was she working on? Did she manage to get a bellsprout? Was she stupid enough to have bellsprout spit acid at her? After a moment of wondering Moon realizes she could just ask what happened, so she does. Her mom bites her lip.

“Are you sure you want to know right now, Mooncake? Why don't you wait until your strength is up?”

“I feel fine,” Moon insists. “Please mom, I have to know.” 

Her mom sighs and nods towards Dr. Alexander. “You were attacked by an Ultra Beast,” he explains. Moon feels the world sway. That was impossible. She couldn't have been attacked by an Ultra Beast. But as she opens her mouth to deny it, images flash across Moon's mind. A Pokemon. A blur. People yelling at her and her shirt magically changing colors. Moon feels her mouth going dry and her heart begin to pound. She's in the hospital. She had to get anesthesia. “Was it bad?” she addresses the doctor. “Did the Pokemon cut me?” 

Dr. Alexander confirms her theory. Then he begins speaking about how Moon had needed surgery to repair the damage. Moon sinks back onto the bed, her mind spinning. She'd needed surgery. She'd never needed surgery in her entire life. But the Pokemon had injured her so badly she'd needed surgery. A memory jolts through Moon. “The Pokemon!” she exclaims. “We were rescuing another Pokemon! Is it okay? Are the others okay?” Before she can work herself into a panic, her mom is hushing her and reassuring her that everything is okay.

The surgery went well and Moon should be able to go home in a few days. Dr. Alexander speaks to them a little more before telling Moon to get some rest and leaving. Moon stares at the walls as she tries to figure out what to say to her mom. It all seems too big to wrap her head around. It feels like it happened to someone else. Moon wants to say something to fill the silence, but she can't figure out what to say. “You should get some rest too,” she says eventually. “You look tired.”

“I almost lost you, Moon,” her mom's voice is choked. “I thought you were going to die.” Sorrow pierces Moon's heart and she reaches out to her mom. “I'm sorry. I'm here now.” Moon wishes she has the words to make it better, but she doesn't. She can say she's fine all she wants but she knows that won't help anything. All the platitudes that people had given after her father died, no matter how true or well-meaning, did nothing to ease the emptiness inside her. Still, Moon wishes she could say something to her mom to comfort her, but she can't. 

“Do you know what happened?” Moon asks. She needs to know.   
“Are you sure you don't want to wait until your strength is up?” her mom asks. “You need to rest.”

“I feel fine. And I've been resting.” Moon really hopes her voice isn't slipping into whining territory. 

Her mom rolls her eyes. “You haven't had a proper rest. You've been drifting in and out of consciousness and I would hardly call passing out from blood loss resting.” Moon sighs. She hates it when her mom uses logic against her. “Please, mom,” she begs. “I promise I'll try to rest if you just tell me what happened.”

She sighs and relents. “Fine, but you have to promise and try to rest first.” At Moon's nod, she begins speaking. “You remember you were attacked by a Ultra Beast, right? One of the people you were with called for help and they had medical personnel fly over on a Charizard. The rescue team had given you blood loss potions to help stabilize you and Comfey performed floral healing on you.”

A burst of love flashes through Moon. Comfey had helped save her life. Incineroar had saved her life. Moon has no idea what would have happened if Incineroar hadn't been there. She remembers Incineroar's fury at the Pokemon. A part of her, a part that she wants to keep locked away and buried is glad. The Pokemon had hurt her. She'd needed surgery. Incineroar had made sure the Pokemon couldn't hurt her anymore. But then her conscience kicks in. Moon reminds herself that the Pokemon hadn't attacked her with malicious intent. It had probably just been scared and confused.

“What happened to the Pokemon?” Moon asks. 

“Incineroar subdued it. They have it contained at Aether Foundation.” Moon knows that a day or so ago she would be jumping to go study the Ultra Beast. She would be wondering if they could live somewhere that wasn't Ultra Space. She'd be writing down a bunch of questions. But Moon can't bring herself to do that. An Ultra Beast. She'd been attacked by an Ultra Beast. She'd wondered about them when she and Lillie had gotten back from Ultra Space, but she'd never bothered to research the Ultra Beasts. If she had, could this have been avoided?

You didn't even know there would be an Ultra Beast there, Moon tries to reason with herself. It was just a routine rescue mission. Moon suddenly realizes that she's been to Ultra Space with dozens of Ultra Beasts so she can stop someone with an evil plan to take over the world or unleash chaos or something. She'd come out relatively unscathed. But she'd gone out on a regular field mission and she'd been attacked by an Ultra Beast. Moon begins to laugh. Of all the messed up things to happen. Moon is laughing so hard she's gasping. Her mom leans over her, speaking frantically and asking if she needs to call the doctor. Moon finally calms down to explain what she was laughing about. Her mom doesn't find it humorous and insists Moon get some rest. Moon's last thought before falling asleep is that the Ultra Beast will probably be treated better under Gladion's care than Lusamine's.

*  
Despite her mom's wishes, it's pretty difficult to sleep in a hospital. Everyone wants to wake her up at a ridiculous hour to do some sort of tests. She's finally able to have a few moments to herself to get a little bit of rest. Moon doesn't feel the urge to sleep, but she doesn't feel like reading or anything either. She's staring listlessly at the wall when Hau bounds in.

At the sight of his wide grin, Moon feels her spirits and her energy lift. “Moon! You're okay! You had me plenty worried!” he exclaims. He hurries over to the bed. “I'd hug you, but I don't want to aggravate your wounds. That's crazy, being attacked by an Ultra Beast. I can't believe you survived. Are you okay? How do you feel? Are you coming home soon?” 

Moon laughs at his questions. “I feel fine. I'm not in any horrible pain, but that could be the medication. Do you know the crazy thing? It didn't hurt when I was attacked. I don't know if I was in shock or anything. Then again, one Pokemon's fangs are so sharp that prey won't even feel it when they feed on them.” 

“So it was like when people get into accidents and they see that they're injured but they can't feel any pain?” 

Moon nods. She's about to ask Hau if he's sure he's able to visit her with his Champion duties and Kahuna in training duties when he clears his throat. “So-are you going to have a scar?” Moon freezes. Dr. Alexander had mentioned it. Moon pretty much expected it, but it didn't stop feeling like she'd been sucker punched in the gut. Moon doesn't like to think of herself as a vain person. She had plenty of scars and burns, but a few of those faded. But these scars-they would be noticeable. She'd look at them and see a reminder of the time she nearly died. Don't think about it like that, she scolds herself. Think about how its a reminder that you survived.

Hau is saying something. “Moon, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset. We don't have to talk about it anymore. We can talk about something else. Like the weather.” Moon chokes on a laugh. “You want to talk about the weather? How long can you make conversation about the weather?”

Hau raises his hands in defense. “Hey, changing awkward subjects is not my area of expertise. Do you want to know how I got this scar? I beat my story is cooler than yours.” He leans really close to Moon and widens his eyes comically until she can't help but laugh. “I don't even see a scar.” Hau points to his forehead and now that she's focused on it, Moon can see a faint gash. 

“Okay, let's see how your story stacks up,” Moon challenges. She feels her spirits lifting. Hau steps back and gestures dramatically. “When I was a young boy, I decided to take a swim by Poni Breaker Coast. I was swimming along, just minding my own business when all of a sudden a Sharpedo appeared. I was just sitting-well floating there- wondering how to get away when a Magikarp appeared. I saw Sharpedo go after Magikarp and I knew I had to save it. I swam as fast as I could and just as Sharpedo launched itself at Magikarp, I pushed it away. It didn't say anything, but as our eyes met, I knew it thought me a hero. The Sharpedo had latched itself onto my head. I could feel its fangs crushing my skull, but then I remembered that the way to defeat Sharpedo is to hit it on the nose. So I did and Sharpedo let go of me.”

Moon finally loses the battle to maintain a straight face. She bursts into laughter. “So you just hit Sharpedo in the nose and it let go? How did you even get back to shore and get help? Did you swim?”

Hau grins at her. “What do you think sounds better? I swam to shore despite my failing strength or the Magikarp came back and evolved into a Gyrados to save me?” Moon rolls her eyes but thinks the question over. “Let me see. I guess it does sound heroic to have the wounded warrior valiantly struggling home, but then again, having someone you saved coming back to save you is a much more poetic. I'd say go with the second option. If you're going to tell a ridiculous story, you might as well go all the way.”

“I'll have you know that my story is one hundred percent true!” Hau exclaims, placing his hands on his hips dramatically. His indignation is ruined by the wide grin on his face. “How did you really get that scar?” Moon demands. 

“Promise you won't tell?” Hau asks. “I mean it, Moon. This is top secret. No one can ever know. This secret is so secret that I've got memory wiping crews on standby in case you speak.” Moon arranges her face into a solemn expression and crosses her heart. “I promise never to reveal the true origins of Hau's mysterious scar,” she says seriously.

Hau nods. “I got it jumping on the bed. I was jumping on the bed and the windowsill had a jagged piece that was sticking out. I lost by balance and crashed into it headfirst.” 

“Yeah, I can see why you didn't want that story to get out,” Moon says. “Did you tell that story about the Sharpedo to anyone else?” At Hau's nod, Moon groans and covers her face. She would have liked to flop back dramatically, but she doesn't think that's the best idea. “You realize that no one actually believed that story, right? They were just indulging you. I have to say that my scar story beats yours because mine actually happened.”

“You win this round, Moon,” Hau says, and Moon rolls her eyes. The negative feelings about her scars have vanished for now. Moon figures they'll show up again, but she knows Hau will be there to cheer her up. Hau's expression turns serious. “Are you up to talking about Ultra Beasts?” he asks. Moon waits for a reaction. She feels a flash of fear, but nothing debilitating. She's encountered Ultra Beasts twice and lived to tell the tale. And just hearing the name won't make the Ultra Beast appear. She has to get back on the horse. Moon nods.

“This time I have a really crazy story,” Hau says seriously, “and it's true. But you have to for real promise to keep it a secret.” Hau's eyes bore into Moon. She nods. “I was visiting home when this guy approaches me and asks if I'm Hau. I said I am. I know Gladion would be disappointed since he doesn't believe in giving out information about himself, but what can I say?”

“I also think you're a bit well-known since you're the Champion and the Kahuna's grandson,” Moon points out. Hau nods.

“So anyway, the guy gives me a note saying that a mysterious person gave him the note. The note doesn't even have a signature. It had bunch of question marks.”

“What did it say?” Moon leans forward. 

“It said to meet me at a motel on Route 8.”

“Did you go?”

“Sure did.” 

“Are you serious? You get a note from a person you don't know asking to meet them at a motel? You're lucky you didn't end up chopped into pieces and buried under the floorboards!” 

“I was curious. I had to take the risk. Anyway, I get to the place and there's this guy and woman there. Guy is apologizing for his disguise and thanking me for meeting him there. It turns out he and his partner are part of a Pokemon task force or something.”

Moon can't help but interrupt. “How did they know you were going to meet them there? What if you didn't? Were they just waiting in the motel room all that time on the off chance that you might come?” 

“They could have profiled me,” Hau suggests. “Anyway, they heard I encountered the Ultra Beasts and managed to defeat it. I did mention you encountered Nihilego, but I told them that you were in the hospital and that you needed to rest up. They might want to speak to you since you've encountered Ultra Beasts as well, but they should wait until you're feeling better.”

“What did they want?” Moon asks. 

“They want me to help catch Ultra Beasts. Since the whole incident with Lusamine opening up a wormhole, more Ultra Beasts have been appearing. They want to study the beasts and protect the public from them. Unfortunately, protecting the public from them might mean destroying them, but that's a last resort option. I mean, the Ultra Beasts are living creatures and they're far from home. They're scared. They don't deserve to be destroyed for being scared and lashing out. They asked me to help catch them.”

“How's that going to work with your other duties?” Moon asks. 

Hau shakes his head. “It's more of a consultant position, I think. And they've reached out to others who have battled the Ultra Beasts as well.” Moon nods as she digests this information. “So what's your next move?” A few days ago she would have been asking if she could be included, but she can't bring herself to do so right now. She hates it. She hates that something that would ordinarily have her excited is sending a shiver down her spine. It was like when she's eating her favorite food when sick and her taste buds are messed up so she can't taste it. It won't be like this forever, Moon tells herself. I won't let it be like this forever.

“The two people (they're called Anabel and Looker) by the way, want to review files on Ultra Beasts from the Aether Foundation.” Moon starts at this and then rolls her eyes at herself. She knew that Aether Foundation knew about Ultra Beasts. Why is she acting so surprised?

“Does Gladion know about them?” Moon asks. 

Hau chuckles. “You should have seen Gladion. He was busy calling their superiors and demanding documentation making sure they're legit.”

“You can't blame him after what happened with Aether Foundation before,” Moon says and 

Hau nods. He speaks again. “Speaking of Gladion, he was really upset about you being attacked.”

“He knows?” Moon interrupts. 

“Yeah, the rescue team was in a state and he is in charge of the company. It's not like this could have been kept a secret. He'd notice if you didn't show up.” Moon has to concede the point. It's not that she minds Gladion knowing that she's hurt. She's just not used to being vulnerable around Gladion. “He was upset?” she prompts Hau. 

“For sure. He wanted to battle me and then he wanted to battle the Ultra Beast. We managed to calm him down. He stormed off somewhere.” 

Moon lies back as she thinks this over. She should contact Gladion and let him know that she's okay. But Gladion has to know. There's no way her mom would have kept her recovery from him. He just hasn't been to visit because he's busy. Moon tells herself this, but she can't help the pang that goes through her at the thought of Gladion not visiting. Moon tries to distract herself from her thoughts. “Is there any chance I can help with the Ultra Beasts?” she asks. “Not with capturing them, but I'm sure I could help out with research.” She has to get past this. She can't let one attack keep her from something she's passionate about.

Hau scratches the back of his neck. “Are you sure that's a good idea, Moon? I mean, after what happened?” Irritation flares through Moon, but she pushes it down like she would push a suitcase that's overflowing and won't close. Hau is just trying to look out for her. Moon breathes and imagines her anger melting away. She smiles at Hau. “I'll be fine,” she assures him. “It's just research. It's not like I'm going to fight the Ultra Beast again.” 

“Well, if you're sure,” he says, and Moon nods. She keeps telling herself that she's sure after Hau leaves. Maybe if she repeats it enough times she'll be able to convince herself. Moon tries to take advantage of being left alone, but she can't fall asleep. Every time she closes her eyes she sees herself being attacked again. I'm fine, Moon tells herself. I'm alive. She wishes her emotions were like her scars. Those could be patched up relatively straight forwardly. Then Moon remembers all the complications that could arise such as infections and tetanus and decides her metaphor kind of sucks. 

*  
Moon is in that pleasant state between consciousness and sleep and she thinks she might finally get to sleep. But before she can drift off, a noise startles her. Moon jolts awake and winces as the move aggravates her wounds. Gladion stands in the door, his shoulders hunched and his hands in his pocket. Moon's heart lifts and she beams at him. “Hi, Gladion! How are you? Don't just stand there. Come on in.” All thoughts of trying to sleep are forgotten. 

“I guess you heard about the Ultra Beasts, huh? I'm sure things will work out much better for them under your leadership. Have you guys found anything out about them as yet?” Gladion just stares at her, his expression blank. “You're an idiot,” he snaps, and storms off. Shock and hurt run through Moon. She thought Gladion could actually use his words now. Okay, calling someone an idiot is technically using their words. But why would he call her an idiot? She'd just been talking about the Ultra Beasts. She thought she and Gladion had progressed in their relationship.

Moon takes deep breaths. This is Gladion. He might be a bit snarly, but she's seen the type of person he is. She knows words are difficult for him and that it'll take him a while to figure out how to say what he wants, but he'll find a way. And if he doesn't, Moon likes to think that she knows him well enough to understand what he's trying to say. But Moon has already lost enough sleep to doctors and her own nightmares. She's not losing sleep over trying to figure out Gladion's motivations. He'll come back. Moon knows he will.

*  
Moon is discharged from the hospital with strict instructions not to engage in strenuous activities. She's also given antibiotics and told to watch out for infections and to make sure she keeps the wound dry when she bathes. It'll be a few days before she's able to do that. Moon is going home with her mom. Before they head home, Moon insists on visiting Aether Foundation so she can thank the other members of the rescue team for saving her life. Moon is swarmed with people, all saying how worried they were and how glad they are that she's okay. Her eyes scan the crowd for a hoodie and a flash of blond hair. 

Wicke notices her expression and places a hand on her shoulder. “Don't worry, dear. Gladion is just out of sorts right now. He'll come around.” Moon can't find the words, so she nods. Wicke smiles. “Now you just go home and rest up. We'll all be looking forward to your return.” Moon is about to say that she doesn't think she's in danger of straining herself by reading paperwork when she sees the look on her mom's face. She closes her mouth. 

When they reach their house, Moon's mom hovers. “Do you need anything?” she asks. “Are you hungry? Are you in pain? Do you need to take your medication?” 

Moon shakes her head. “I'm fine. I'm just going to lie down for a bit. Can you call me when dinner is ready?” Her mom nods but watches anxiously as Moon heads to her room. Moon wants to tell her mom that she's fine and it's not like she's going to be attacked in her house. Then again, she never expected to be attacked by an Ultra Beast.

Moon reaches her room and releases Incineroar and Comfey from their pokeballs. She hadn't been able to have her Pokemon out at the hospital because of sanitary reasons. But she needs to see her Pokemon. They saved her life. Incineroar stands before her, proud and noble. Comfey settles onto her head. Moon finds the words she had vanishing. She stares at her very first Pokemon. She thinks about Gladion's words about what a beautiful thing it was to see the bond develop between a Pokemon and trainer. She didn't think it would ever come to this- that her Pokemon would get between her and beasts from other dimensions. And they've done this twice.

Moon's throat is clogged. Her eyes well up with tears. She launches herself at Incineroar. Incineraor catches her and cradles her close. Moon relaxes in her Pokemon's strong embrace. She barely notices as Incineroar sinks to the floor. All she knows is that she's home and surrounded by her Pokemon and they'll protect her no matter what.

*  
Moon wakes up to see her mom putting away her phone. “What are you doing?” she grumbles. Her mom smiles. “You just looked so cute cuddled up to your Pokemon like that. I had to get a picture.”

“How do you even know how to use a phone?” Moon demands. “You're a parent-you're supposed to be anti technology.”

That statement is met with an eye roll. “We had phones back in my day, smart mouth.” 

“Okay, how do you know how to use a phone with a camera?” Moon amends her statement. She doesn't get a response so Moon thinks she wins that round. Over dinner, Moon's mom tells her that Erika and Lillie had called for her. “They were worried sick. I told them maybe you could call them after dinner.” Moon knows that there's no point in asking if they know about what happened. She thinks it over. Her doubt must show on her face because her mom is saying, “If you're not feeling up to it, I can tell them you'll call back tomorrow. It's up to you.”

Moon shakes her head. “No, it's fine. I just-” her voice breaks off. Would her friends still see her as Moon or would they see her as the girl who was attacked? Moon had spilled fruit punch in her old room and the stain had never fully gone out. You aren't a stain, Moon snaps at herself. This doesn't define you anymore than your love of caramel defines you. Your friends are just worried about you.

“You aren't sure what to say to them?” Moon's mom asks. Moon nods. “You can tell them if you don't want to talk about the Ultra Beast.” Moon thinks it over. That idea is stunning in its simplicity. She doesn't have to talk about what happened to her. She decides to call Erika first, since it's easier to get a hold of her. After dinner, Moon settles down on her bed and dials Erika's number. The phone rings and Erika's voice suddenly fills her ear. “Moon! I'm so glad you're okay. I couldn't believe it when your mom said you were attacked by a Pokemon alien.”

“I'm fine. Hey, can we talk about something other than my attack right now?” 

There's a pause but then Erika agrees. She begins speaking about challengers at the gym and how she's thinking up new scents for perfume. “Do you have any ideas about fertilizer?” Moon asks. “Mallow and I are thinking that might help the soil quality in Alola.” Erika and Moon brainstorm a bit before Moon lets out a sigh. “I really need to get you and Mallow in the same room. Just think, we can create mutant trees with our brains.” 

Erika sighs. “Didn't we agree not to use our science powers for evil?”

“I agreed to no such thing,”Moon argues primly. “By the way, did you know bellsprout can spit acid strong enough to melt iron? If you did and you didn't tell me, you are the worst sort of friend.”

“Moon, just because I'm a grass gym leader doesn't mean I know everything about the Pokemon. Aren't you the one always saying the world is just waiting to be discovered and how wonderful it is that there's always going to be mysteries?” 

“Okay, you've made your point. We'll have to experiment with this once I get better. I don't think mom will approve of me having a Pokemon spit acid at me right now.”

“When would your mom ever approve of that?”

“I think she made peace with the fact that I am willing to risk my health for science.”

Erika snorts. “More like she's resigned to the fact that her daughter is going to die in the pursuit of science. That should be on your grave.” There's a pause. Moon is about to retort when Erika is babbling, “Moon, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that.” Moon casts her mind back to what Erika was just saying. She sighs. “Erika, I'm fine. If you want to make jokes about me dying, go ahead.”

Erika's voice is small. “You nearly died, Moon. You nearly died and I might not have been there.” Moon feels heavy. She knows she could have died. Why does everyone keep reminding her? Do they think she's in danger of forgetting any time soon? Moon takes several deep breaths. They were worried about you, she tells herself. Do you really expect them to laugh like all that's happened is you got a little burn? 

“I'm fine.” Moon says instead. 

“Still, I hate the fact that I'm not there with you. I can probably find someone to fill in as acting gym leader and come see you.” Moon thrills at the thought, but she doesn't have any reason to pull Erika away from her gym leader duties. “No, it's fine.” 

“Okay.” Erika's voice is doubtful. “But if you need me, don't hesitate to reach out.” Moon agrees and hangs up. She decides to email Lillie next. “Hi, Lillie. I guess my mom told you that I was attacked by an Ultra Beast. Would you believe me if I said I was okay? Probably not. Did Mom tell you all the gory details? I'm going to assume she did. But I'm really okay. That might be a relative term. Look at it this way. I'm not dead. Which might be a low standard, but as everyone keeps reminding me, I nearly died. I will count not dying as a success. Did Gladion write you? Did he tell you Aether Foundation is investigating Ultra Beasts? I'm hoping to do research as well, but everyone is acting like just seeing the word Ultra Beast will send me into a panic.

Moon reads over that last line and grimaces. She knows she's being unfair. She deletes the last line and asks how Lillie's Pokemon journey is going. 

*  
Moon's mom doesn't outright forbid her from leaving the house, but she gets a look in her eyes that makes Moon reluctant to do so. What Moon won't admit is that she's reluctant to leave the house as well. When she opens her front door, she keeps waiting to see a flash of red and white. She tells herself that the Pokemon is at Aether Foundation and can't hurt her, but that doesn't stop her from freezing up whenever she sees something white or red out of the corner of her eye. Moon tries to tell herself that she'll be fine and that it'll just take time. But as she goes for a walk, she isn't observing the Pokemon. She isn't thinking about research projects. Instead her body is tense, waiting for a Pokemon to attack. Incineroar walks at her back and that allows Moon to relax marginally. 

When she gets home, Moon goes to her room and pulls out a few journals. She likes to read the studies. It was a great way to get ideas. Maybe if she went back to her usual habits, she wouldn't feel scared anymore. A voice in her head told her that it was okay to be scared while another voice told her that there was nothing to be scared of. Moon knows that both voices are right. She's interrupted by her mom poking her head in. “That boy Gladion is here to cook you dinner,” she announces. Moon can only stare. Is this a joke? But Moon can hear movement in the kitchen so she gets up to follow her mom.

Sure enough, Gladion stands in their kitchen. His arms are laden with grocery bags. For a moment Moon wonders if she's hallucinating, but her mom can clearly see Gladion too. “So he just came here and asked if he can make dinner?” Mom has to clarify this. Her mom nods. 

“And you just said, 'sure, come on in?' Doesn't that strike you as weird?”

“Compared to what you get up to, this is relatively tame.” 

Moon rolls her eyes and thinks about how to best approach Gladion. “Uh...Gladion?” 

Gladion whirls around and fixes Moon with a fierce glare. “Your mom said you prefer fish to poultry? Is that true?” Moon can only nod. She wonders again how this is her life. Given Gladion's current mood, it might not be a good idea to let him near any knives. 

“I wasn't sure if you'd like fish or poultry better,” Gladion is saying. He's banging around the cabinets looking for utensils until Moon's mom gets them out. Moon takes a deep breath. She's faced life forms from other dimensions. She can deal with this. “Gladion,” she says again, and reaches out to touch his shoulder. His back is to her; he's busy examining a pan with the same intensity an assassin would examine their weapons. Gladion jolts at her touch. Before she register what was happening, Gladion is putting the pan down with a clutter and yanking Moon into his arms. Moon's arms go instinctively around Gladion. The last time he hugged her like this was when she and Lillie had returned from Ultra Space. Moon is about to ask Gladion if getting a hug after facing an Ultra Beasts is going to become a tradition, but she notices that Gladion is trembling. Moon squeezes him tighter. “It's okay,” she murmurs. “Everything is okay.” 

“You nearly died,” Gladion whispers.

“I'm fine. It's okay, Gladion, I'm okay.” 

Gladion suddenly pulls back and looks into her eyes. “No,” he snaps. His eyes are boring into hers. “You nearly died. You do not get to comfort me right now.” Moon doesn't say anything for a moment. Gladion goes back to the pan. Moon glances at her mom, hoping she'd have some insight, but she just says she'll leave them alone. Moon rolls her eyes and turns to look at Gladion. “Gladion,” she calls softly. A grunt is her response. “Can you at least tell me why you're cooking me dinner?” 

No response. Gladion is pulling more ingredients of the bags. After a minute he speaks. “You lost a lot of blood,”he says finally.

“Okay. But that still doesn't explain why you're here making me dinner.”

“You lost a lot of blood,” Gladion repeats. His voice is harsh. “I looked up ways people can recover from blood loss. They said to eat food rich in iron. Fish and certain types of poultry like red meat are the best sources of iron, but I didn't know what you preferred. Maybe if Moon keeps staring this picture will begin to make sense, like a piece of abstract art. “So just to recap, you're cooking me dinner to help me recover from my injury?” Gladion nods sharply. Moon stares at him a moment longer. She feels herself melting. “Do you need any help?” she asks.

“No!” Gladion snaps, and Moon takes a step back and raises her hands in surrender.

“I'm not that bad of a cook,” she protests. “I can make rice, and pasta with sauce. Not homemade sauce, but jarred sauce. But we aren't in any danger of burning house down.”

“It's not that. I just-please let me cook for you, Moon. Please.” Gladion's voice has gone soft. Moon can never resists him like this, when he trusts her enough to show that he's vulnerable. She backs off. “I didn't know you can cook,” Moon says. 

“I can't,” Gladion answered. “Not fancy food. I can cook well enough to survive. And make things a little more fancy than pasta with jarred sauce.” He shoots Moon a smirk over his shoulder. Moon responds by rolling her eyes. “Where'd you learn how to cook?” she asks. Gladion's shoulders stiffen. 

“You don't have to tell me,” Moon says quickly. “I was just curious.” 

“No, it's fine. I learned to cook when I was with Team Skull.” Moon straightens. Gladion doesn't like to talk about his time as a member of Team Skull and Moon doesn't like to push him about it. “Really?” she asks. “How'd that happen? Are they secretly good cooks? Mallow has a girl working as a waitress, but maybe I should tell her to promote her new employee.”

Gladion rolls his eyes. “Trust me, they couldn't cook while I was there. We couldn't always order out, so some of us would chip in for groceries once in a while. The problem was that these guys were so incompetent the groceries would go to waste. I had to learn how to cook or starve. Did you know they put metal in a microwave?” 

Moon opens her mouth to say that no one is that stupid, then she remembers that she's talking about Team Skull. She closes her mouth. “So am I supposed to just stand here and watch you cook?” she asks. “Because I feel pretty bad not helping out.” 

“It's fine,” Gladion replies. He adds oil to the pan. “I don't think you're an idiot.” For a moment Moon wonders what that has to do with her helping out in the kitchen. Then she remembers their encounter in the hospital. Moon rolls her eyes. “Good to know.” She feels herself settling back into her usual rhythm with Gladion. She tells him about how she's been taking walks and reading scientific articles. Moon doesn't mention how Incineroar has to walk with her and how Moon finds herself freezing when she sees a flash of red or white. She doesn't know why.

Soon delicious aromas begin to fill the kitchen. Moon is tempted to try and sneak a bite of food, but burning her mouth would be counterproductive and Gladion definitely has the reflexes to smack her hand away. Gladion at least allows her to set the table and they sit down to eat. “This looks delicious, Gladion,” Moon's mom says. “Thank you for making us dinner.” Moon realizes that she forgot to say thank you and groans. She can't believe that she's been so rude. “Yeah, thanks,” she says quickly. Gladion just nods.

The fish is perfectly seasoned and moist. Moon wants to ask Gladion if he'll cook for her more often. She almost asks if she'll have to get injured again for it to be a regular occurrence, but she knows it's too soon to make a joke about that. She thinks it's a bit unfair since she's the one who nearly died, so she should have the right to crack jokes. But then Moon remembers what it was like when her father got sick. She remembers not being able to do anything and how helpless she felt. She thinks about how she had to watch her father deteriorate and thinks about how her family and friends would feel about her nearly dying and not being able to do anything. Moon can't really blame her mom and her friends for not wanting a reminder of her dying. Moon hates the song “Dust in the Wind,” since her mom wants it played at her funeral. She doesn't want a reminder of her mom's eventual death.

“Moon tells me you're doing great work with Aether Foundation,” Moon's mom says, and Gladion looks down. “It's not really a big deal,” he mumbles. Moon is about to correct him, but her mom beats her to it. “On the contrary. I think it shows character to reform an organization, especially at such a young age.”

“I wouldn't say I reformed it,” Gladion protests. “I'm just having Aether Foundation do what it said it would do.”

“It's kind of like an undercover thing,” Moon chimes in. “You know how you have to go undercover and act a certain part, and then you find yourself becoming attached to the people in your fake life and your fake persona. Except in this case we won't have a moment when the friends are like, “Was it all a lie?” Moon's mom and Gladions exchange smirks. Moon decides she can pretend not to see it.

“It's funny,” Gladion says. “I never thought I'd enjoy being part of Aether Foundation before now.” 

“They were doing unethical things with Pokemon,” Moon points out. “I can't imagine you'd want to be a part of that.”

“No, I wouldn't,” Gladion says, smiling bitterly, and Moon wonders what he's thinking about. “But even before that, I had no interest in running the foundation or having anything to do with it.” He falls silent.

“Do you like running Aether Foundation?” Moon's mom asks. 

Gladion's answer comes swiftly. “I do. It's hard work, but it's rewarding. And I've had a lot of help.” He glances at Moon and smiles slightly. Moon smiles back. She hopes she can go back to Aether Foundation soon. She won't even have Pokemon attack her for a while. Moon smothers a giggle at the thought of how that would go down. Dinner passes by pleasantly. Moon walks Gladion to the door. Moon looks at Gladion. She looks at this boy who came to her house to cook her dinner because he researched what foods would help with blood loss. She can't find adequate words to express her thank you. “Thanks again for cooking me dinner,” she says, and hopes her voice conveys all the gratitude she feels. 

“I left the meat in the fridge,” Gladion says instead. “You guys can use it for dinner later in the week.” Moon reads the unspoken cue and changes the subject. “How are things going at Aether Foundation?”

“It's going pretty well.” Gladion pauses. “I miss you, though.” The words are spoken softly.  
“I miss you too,” Moon answers without hesitation. “Hopefully I'll be back soon.”

But Gladion shakes his head. “Take as much time as you need. You need to get better.”

“I'm-” Moon is about to say that she's better now, but that's only half of the truth. She has trouble moving sometimes. She always has to be careful about reopening the wounds. But she wants life to go back to normal. She wants to be at Aether Foundation doing research or patching up Pokemon. Moon says goodbye to Gladion.

Now that he's gone, Moon finds herself full of restless energy that she doesn't know how to get rid of. She drags a chair outside and sits in the garden. Tilting her head back, she stares at the stars. She's never been much for stargazing, but when she looks to the stars she always saw a world full of possibility. Now she isn't sure what she sees. Moon waits for a moment to see if she feels the fear creeping up, but she doesn't. She breathes out a sigh of relief. Maybe she can get back to normal. A moment later, that theory is disproved when she hears a noise. Moon's heart jolts and she leaps out of her chair. A minute later, she sees that her mom has just come out to join.

“Hi, Mom.” Moon tries to laugh off her reaction. “You scared me.” She sees her mom's expression and flops into the chair. “Sorry about freaking out.” Her mom doesn't say anything. Moon tries to think of small talk, but her mind goes blank. Instead she just stares up at the stars again. She wonders if this will be her life from now on-pained glances and people tiptoeing around her. Moon shakes her head. She knows she isn't being fair. She can't just expect everything to go back the way it was right away. Logically she knows she has to give it time.

Her mom waits a moment before speaking, “Are you okay?” Moon is about to say yes, but figures her mom deserves an honest answer. “I'm fine,” she replies. “Like I said, you just scared me.” Moon realizes that isn't exactly an honest answer, so she elaborates. “I mean, I'm fine right now,” she says. “It varies on how okay I am.” Her mom doesn't say anything. She just wraps Moon in her embrace. Moon feels herself go boneless as she breathes in her mom's scent. She thinks that if she can just stay wrapped up in her mom's arms, she'll never be scared again.

*  
As a pep talk, Moon tells herself that she's survived going to another dimension and she'll survive this. Then she remembers that she wasn't really hurt the last time she encountered Ultra Beasts, so she has to change her tactics. She reminds herself of how she's seen injured Pokemon make full recoveries. She reminds herself how she's seen Pokemon that have been cast aside find loving homes. She tells herself all these things. The problem is that they might be true, but she can't make herself believe it. 

What really helps is going about her regular routine. When her father died, Moon had wondered if she would be happy again. But the funny thing about grief is that it eventually fades, or at least becomes less debilitating. Moon and her mom had found enjoyment in things again. No, Moon had found enjoyment in things again without feeling guilty that she was feeling enjoyment in things. She can tell herself all sorts of things, but at the end of the day what really helps is getting up and doing things. She calls out to her mom, “I'm going to visit Professor Kukui.” 

Her mom relaxes at this. “Is he working on a project?” she asks.

“No. I just need to get my mind off things. And I was his assistant first and I kind of left him for Aether Foundation.” 

“Alright. Have fun and be careful.” Moon nods and slips out the door. As she walks to the lab, she keeps her eyes peeled. Her hand hovers over Incineroar's pokeball and her body is tensed, ready to run. But she makes it to Professor Kukui's safe and sound. Moon sighs and wonders if she'll always be looking over her shoulder. Maybe she should look at the statistics of Ultra Beasts actually appearing. Nothing beat back fear than good old fashioned facts.

It suddenly dawns on Moon that Professor Burnet might know about Ultra Beasts or at least other dimensions. When Moon and Lillie had met her, she had mentioned that her research involved different dimensions. The words had never really registered with Moon until now. “Hey, cousin!” Professor Kukui calls. “Glad to see you're back on your feet!”' His grin is contagious and Moon finds herself grinning back. “Glad to be back on my feet,” she answers. 

“So what brings you here?” he asks.

“I needed to get out of the house,”Moon says, and Professor Kukui nods as though this makes perfect sense. “Nothing to get you out of a funk like research.” He thrusts a basket at her. “You can help be find Slowpoke tails. They fall off a lot.”

“What are you using them for?” Moon asks, as she scans the area.

“I'm going to use some for fishing,” Professor Kukui says. At Moon's curious look he elaborates, “Their tail secretes a sweet substance that fish find appealing.” 

“Does the tail falling off make the substance less potent?” Moon asks, and Professor Kukui taps his chin. “I never really considered that before. You know what that means? I get to have a fishing contest with Slowpoke. We'll see if a fresh tail gets more fishes.” Moon laughs at his enthusiasm.

“What are you going to use the other tails for?” she asks.

“I'm going to cook them. Their tails are delicious in stews.” 

“I've never tried it,” Moon admits.

Professor Kukui claps his hands. “That settles it. You and your mom are coming over for dinner tonight. We've really been slacking. I can't believe we haven't introduced you to Alolan cuisine.”

“Don't feel bad. Hau's introduced me to masalada.” 

Professor Kukui gestures dramatically. “But you're my research assistant. You came to me from a far off region. I should have been introducing you to Alolan food, but I shirked my duties.” Moon laughs. It's amazing how light she feels. She isn't glancing around to make sure the Ultra Beast isn't around to attack her. Speaking of the Ultra Beast, she should find out what it's called. It's getting pretty annoying to constantly refer to it as the Ultra Beast. If she finds out more about it, she'll be less scared. She'll email Gladion later.

“Professor Burnet works at the Dimensional Research Lab, right?” Moon asks. 

“She sure does.” 

Moon hesitates and then springs her question. In science, nothing is ever gained by not asking. “Do you think she'd know anything about the wormholes? Like how to detect them or the Pokemon that live there?”

Professor Kukui studies her for a moment and Moon tries not to squirm. She figures Professor Kukui can guess her motives. Moon isn't sure if she wants him to actually say them out loud though. Eventually he nods. “She should. I'll give her a call. I think she's been asked to consult at Aether Foundation about the Ultra Wormholes.”

“It's a pretty big project, isn't it?” Moon remarks and Professor Kukui nods enthusiastically. “It sure is! I love collaborating on projects. It's a chance to see new perspectives and learn new things. Did you know there are other dimensions aside from Ultra Space?” Moon's eyes widen. She's been amazed by the existence of just Ultra Space, and now there were more dimensions and worlds? She feels like she's standing in front of a cliff and about to fall off, but there's an absolutely awe-inspiring view in front of her. “Does Professor Burnet have any articles about her research? Can I get a copy?” Moon demands. She's practically bouncing in place. Exploring Alola has been one of the best experiences of her life. She's learned so much. But how much more could she learn studying other dimensions?”

*  
Moon invites her mom over to the lab for dinner. For the first time her mom isn't glancing at her with a worried frown. Instead she laughs as Professor Kukui jokes with her and tells her about his research and the unfortunate mishaps he's gotten into because of it. She joins in with a few of Moon's escapades. Ordinarily Moon would have told the stories herself, but it's just so nice seeing her mom relaxing and having a good time. When Moon and her mom get back home, she turns to Moon. “I had a nice time tonight.”

“So did I.” 

Moon's mom reaches out and brushes the hair away from her face. “I am so proud of you,” she murmurs. “And I want you to know that we will get through this.” Moon can't find the words, so she squeezes her mom as hard as she can and hopes that conveys the message. 

Moon settles on her bed and checks her email. She has one from Lillie. She can almost hear Lillie's voice as she reads the email. “Moon, of course I'm going to worry. I don't know why you would even bother saying something so ridiculous? Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it? I'm here if you need to talk about it. Yes, your mom told me all the details, but even just hearing you were in the hospital would have made me worry. I did hear that Aether Foundation will be researching Ultra Beasts. I miss you guys. I feel like I'm growing as a person being on my own. But I grew as a person by being with you guys as well. Oh dear, I don't know where I'm going with this. But it just feels wrong, not being part of this with you guys.

Are you sure you want to hear about how my Pokemon journey is going? Are you going to think it's insensitive that I brought it up? I hope you're feeling better.”

Moon rolls her eyes and begins to type a response. “I'm doing fine, Lillie. Some days are better than others. I had a great day today. I went and spent the day with Professor Kukui and I didn't even have any Pokemon attack me. That would just set my recovery back, which would be kind of counterproductive. And mom would kill me if I let a Pokemon attack me right now. And Professor Kukui probably wouldn't let me have a Pokemon attack me. 

Of course I want to hear about your Pokemon journey. Why do you think I asked? It wasn't just pointless small talk on my part. You can talk to me about things besides the Ultra Beast, you know? But if you do want to talk about Ultra Beasts, that's fine as well. By the way, your brother made me dinner. It was actually pretty amusing. First he shows up at my hospital room and is all staring. Then he's like, “You're an idiot,” and leaves. I really wish you were here in person so I could do his voice. But anyway, he shows up, calls me an idiot, and then leaves. I think he just likes being dramatic. But then a few days later he shows up wanting to cook me dinner. He actually researched foods to help recover from blood loss. He's a pretty good cook. And surprisingly sweet. I miss you, too. I wish you were here with us, but you'll just have to have a lot of fun without us right now.”

Moon sends her email and begins to write an email to Gladion. “Hi, Gladion. Can you send me any information about the Ultra Beast that attacked me? I'd like to know its name at least. How are things going with you? How's Riolu and Silvally? I miss you guys. I can't wait to be back at Aether Foundation.”

*  
Over the next few days, Moon's life settles into a routine. She goes to help at Professor Kukui's. Most of the time she brews remedies for people on the island. Sometimes she hears a noise and freezes before her brain can even register what it is, but that doesn't happen all the time. Moon bites back frustration when it happens. The attack only lasted a few minutes. It's over. Why does it have to keep affecting her? Gladion emails her back quickly. “Here's the information. You don't have to read it if you don't want to. Riolu is doing fine for now. It has moments when its not okay, though. Silvally misses you because it can sucker you into playing fetch. I miss you. By the way, did you know Golbat drinks so much blood from its prey that its blood type changes? I just found that out and thought of you.”

Moon smiles at the thought that Gladion thought of her when he heard an interesting fact. Then she sobers as she looks at the file Gladion has attached to the email. Get a grip, Moon scolds herself. Are you really going to freak out over looking at information about the Ultra Beast? It's not like reading the information would make the beast magically appear. It was just facts. Logical, dependable facts. Moon opens the file and begins to read.

The Pokemon is called Kartana. It's a grass and steel type, which explains why Incineroar's attacks were so effective against it. Moon shudders as she reads that Kartana's blades are so sharp that it can destroy a steel building in one swing. It's a miracle she wasn't sliced into pieces. Moon's legs won't stop shaking no matter how many times she commands them to stop. It's over. She's safe. But she can't stop shaking. There's a flash of light and her Pokemon are surrounding her. Moon finds herself surrounded by warmth. Right. Her Pokemon. They'd saved her. She was safe. “Thanks, everyone,” she murmurs. 

Suddenly a wave of frustration wells up inside her. She'd started shaking because she read words on a page. Would she always be so pathetic? Moon takes several deep breaths and begins to read more. It turns out Kartana can open Ultra Wormholes. Questions arise in Moon's mind and she focuses on those. It's good to have a purpose. She opens up her email and writes to Gladion. “Thanks for the info, Gladion. Aw, you thought about me. I'm touched. I did know that about Golbat, but it's really nice that you thought about me. I'm glad Riolu is doing better. When I come back to Aether Foundation I promise I'll play fetch with Silvally. How are things going with the other Type: Nulls? I read the file. Is Kartana the only Ultra Beast that can open wormholes? Does it need to be under a lot of stress like Nebby needed to be?”

Gladion tells her that according to the files, Kartana is the only Ultra Beast other than Nebby that can open Ultra Wormholes. There isn't any data on whether it needs to be under extreme duress for this to occur. He includes more files on the Ultra Beasts. Moon reads through them. She feels her heart soar as she reads that Pheromosa has a pheromone that was previously unknown to science. She sees the words previously unknown to science and reads them over and over like she would a love note or a favorite passage in a book. Pheromasa can emit a pheromone that renders everyone around it awestruck. Moon is already jotting down questions.   
She also notes with interest that Poipole is the only Pokemon that can evolve.

“Thanks so much for the files,” Moon emails. “It's so interesting that Kartana and Nebby are the only ones who can open up the Ultra Wormholes. So far. Maybe the other Ultra Beasts can open up wormholes as well and we don't know. It will be fun finding out. I really wish I was back at Aether now. You know once I get back I'm going to be hounding everyone with questions, right?”

Gladion's reply is a simple, “Looking forward to seeing you again,” and Moon reads that line over and over. She thinks about how Gladion barely tolerated her presence and now he openly admits he's looking forward to seeing her again.

*  
Moon is finally cleared to go back to Aether Foundation. She's recovered from the surgery. Thankfully she never got any infections. Moon bounces in place. She can't wait to see Gladion and all the Pokemon and be part of the research. “You'll be careful, right” Moon's mom asks.

“I will,” Moon says. “I'm just going to talk to the scientists and toss around a few ideas. Maybe brew up a few remedies and hang out with Gladion.” 

“Promise me you'll be safe,” and even though Moon nods, she feels a stab of resentment. This wasn't her fault. It wasn't like she'd gone into Ultra Space to stop an evil plan. This time she'd been minding her own business and she'd been attacked. Then Moon feels shame for being angry. She can't blame her mom for worrying. She hugs her mom. “I'll be fine,” she assures her. “Gladion and my Pokemon will look out for me. The worst thing that will happen today is that I'll get a paper cut.” 

When she gets to Aether Foundation, Gladion is waiting. Now that she knows Gladion doesn't object to physical contact, Moon doesn't hesitate to engulf him in a hug. To her surprise, Gladion hugs her back. It's brief, but he does hug her. Moon removes herself from his embrace and begins striding towards the lab. As she walks, she fires questions at Gladion. “I read the files you sent me. Thanks a lot for those, by the way. Why do you think Poipole is the only Pokemon that can evolve? Do you think it's weaker than the Ultra Beasts? I mean, let's go with the theory that evolution is for survival. Do you think the other Ultra Beasts have characterstics that make them better equipped for survival than Poipole? It's also pretty interesting that it would know dragon pulse, since it's a poison pokemon. It's really interesting how Pokemon know moves that aren't its type match up. I mean, why would a poison type pokemon know a dragon or a fairy move? I can understand if it were a breeding thing, like it bred with another type of Pokemon, but that can't be the case for all of them?

Gladion speaks dryly. “Are you just thinking out loud or do you want me to answer the questions?” 

Moon pauses as she thinks it over. “If you have any theories, you're more than welcome to share.” 

“I found out some interesting information about Nagadanel,” Gladion tells Moon. She huffs playfully. “Did you find that out recently or were you just waiting to do a dramatic reveal?” Gladion remains silent and Moon rolls her eyes. “Fine. Tell me what you know.” 

“Nagadanel can communicate telepathically,” he answers. “Hau caught its preevolution Poipole a few days ago and brought it here.” 

“Telepathy's cool. I did go through a phase where I really wanted telekinesis. I had dreams about that and I couldn't even levitate a hair pin. Can you believe that? I can't even be cool in my dreams.”

“ Telekinesis, huh? I would have thought you'd want the power to make plants grow or something.” 

“Unfortunately that requires a vat of acid or other dangerous chemicals and contrary to the movies, they aren't just anywhere waiting for a poor unfortunate soul to fall into them.”

“You could inject yourself with a grass Pokemon's DNA,” Gladion suggests . Moon considers it for a moment. “That does seem easier than finding a vat of acid,” she muses.

“If you do this, leave my name out of it,” Gladion orders. Moon just laughs. She's missed this so much. She thinks of all the possibilities that will open up if they're able to communicate with an Ultra Beast telepathically. They enter the lab and Moon freezes. She doesn't know what happens. One minute she's laughing with Gladion and thinking about what grass Pokemon she'd like to merge with. The next minute she can't move. Kartana looms in front of her and she can't move. She can't move, she can't move, she can't move. She can see Kartana lunging at her and she has time to get away, but her body won't obey her. Her mouth goes dry. She tries to get her body to move but it won't.

Suddenly Moon feels a hand on her back. She comes back to herself in time to feel herself be guided outside. Her limbs knock together and she wonders why she can't stop trembling. She sees the Kartana lunging at her over and over, like she's watching a video on a loop. Kartana is saying something. “Come on, sit down. Take deep breaths. Or put your head between your knees. I don't know. I'm not good at this.” Moon obeys the voice. She takes several deep breaths and finds the terror receding away. 

She's safe. She's in Aether Labs. Kartana is not lunging at her, but safely contained in Aether Labs. Gladion sits beside her, his face pale. “Are you okay?” he asks. His hands hover over her. “And don't lie to me,” he adds sharply. 

“I feel like such an idiot. I freaked out. The other day I read that Kartana can slice steel building and I freaked out then as well.” 

“I never should have sent you that file,” Gladion mutters.

“No. Not knowing wouldn't have changed the fact that I was attacked.” 

“Anything else?” Gladion asks. 

The words come pouring out of Moon. It's like there was a dam and the dam has broken. “I'm scared and I'm sick of always being scared. The attack is over. It happened. Yet I'm still afraid to leave my house and my mom is afraid to let me. I see red or white and have a reflexive moment when I freeze up. And then I feel like everyone just sees me as the girl who got attacked by an Ultra Beast and they don't want to talk about anything else with me. I just...” There's more Moon wanted to say, but she can't speak around the lump in her throat. Her thoughts vanish. 

Gladion doesn't say anything for a moment. Moon is about to laugh it off and say she'll be fine, but she doesn't do that. She knows Gladion just needs to find the right words. He speaks slowly and carefully. “Moon,” he asks, “can I hug you?” Moon nods and Gladion slowly and carefully pulls her to him. Moon is stiff for a moment before nestling into his embrace. Gladion doesn't say anything to her, but holds her close. “Are you scared now?” he murmurs. For a moment Moon doesn't understand what he's saying. She hums inquisitively. 

“Are you scared now?” he repeats. Moon frowns at this. Does Gladion still think she should be afraid of him? Moon has never been afraid of him. Intimidated, maybe, but never afraid. “I'm not scared of you,” she tells Gladion.

“No, you said just now that you were tired of always being scared. Are you scared right now?” 

“No.” It's the truth. Her heart rate has returned to normal and her trembling has stopped.

“So you aren't scared all the time.”

“Only because you helped calm me down. And I was scared when I read something about Kartana. I couldn't even snap out of it myself. My Pokemon had to comfort me.” 

“The point is, you aren't scared now. You weren't scared when you were theorizing about Poipole and evolution. No one is in one emotional state all the time. You've been angry before, but you're not angry all the time. You've been scared before, but you're not scared now.” Moon thinks it over. “That's pretty deep,” she admits. 

“Remember when you told me that I didn't have to forgive someone right away? You don't have to stop being scared right away.”

Moon can see the wisdom in his words. “I just don't want to bother anyone,” she says. 

“Look at me, Moon,” Gladion orders. Moon reluctantly pulls back to look at Gladion. He keeps his eyes on hers. “Did you think I was bothering you when you patched me up?” Moon opens her mouth to say no, of course she didn't, but that was different. Gladion had needed help right then and there. But Gladion doesn't let her speak. It's like a battle, she thinks, when a trainer has their opponent on the ropes and lands a barrage of hits. “Did you think I was bothering you when I told you about how I was angry at my mother? Or when I wasn't sure to forgive Plumeria?” Moon shakes her head. “So why would you think that you'd be bothering me if you needed support?” Moon's mind goes blank. She can't think of an answer. She knows that she's never thought Gladion was bothering her. 

“You said this would go both ways,” Gladion reminds her. “That means I get to be there for you like you've been there for me.” Moon remains silent for a moment. She's seen how worried her mom is and she doesn't want to worry her anymore. She doesn't want to worry Gladion, Lillie, Hau, and all her Pokemon. But she would never say Gladion or Lillie was bothering her if they were having nightmares. Why would she think her friends wouldn't do the same for her? They're her friends. Gladion has trusted her to be vulnerable in front of her; she can trust him to be vulnerable in front of him. 

“Okay,” Moon says quietly, and Gladion smiles. It's a small smile but it's beautiful in its sincerity. “You know that I have nightmares about the other Type: Nulls being destroyed,” Gladion says suddenly. “I dream I wasn't able to escape with one and I lost Silvally. I dream that Team Skull actually harmed Lillie and Cosmog died. I know they're safe, but...”

“Yeah, I get it. Thanks.” Moon giggles. “Since when did you get to be so good at talking about feelings? Am I rubbing off on you? Does that mean I'll take on your characteristics now? Am I going to be all broody and glary? But then that means I get to lurk in the shadows or say something dramatically and then leave.” 

Gladion rolls his eyes. “So, do you want to go back inside?” he asks. 

Moon hesitates. “The others saw me freak out.” 

“They won't say anything to you,” Gladion assures her. “If they do, I'll fight them. Besides, there's a poison pokemon from another world there. Don't you want to go test the effects of its poison and try to brew an antidote? Maybe compare its poison to a Pokemon's poison in this dimension and see if the antidote can work with this poison as well?” Moon's eyes light up. There are questions to be answered. She heaves herself off the floor. “Thanks, Gladion.” Yet again, she finds her words inadequate to the point of insulting. Aside from saying thank you, Moon doesn't have any way to express her gratitude for what Gladion's done for her. It goes both ways, Moon reminds herself. But before entering the lab, she hugs Gladion tightly. 

Moon glances in Kartana's direction. She waits for the fear to kick in, but she feels nothing. Maybe she's used up her quota for the day. She knows that Kartana is safely contained and can't hurt her. Gladion is right. No one says anything about her freak out. Instead they begin telling her about Poipole and the poison and Moon loses herself in learning all she can about it. Poipole can fire an adhesive poison from its head. It laughs wildly as it sprays its victim with the poison. It's also capable of understanding human speech the longer its been around human, so Moon makes a point of talking to it.

At the end of the day, Gladion walks her out. “Did you have a good first day back?” he asks.

“Yes! Since Poipole is from another world, do you think that remedies we have here would treat its poison? I wonder if we'd be able to go to their world. Can you just imagine all the things we'll be able to discover?” The thrill of studying something new has filled Moon with energy. She feels like she can run marathons. 

“It's good to have you back, Moon,” Gladion says.

“It's really nice to be back. Thanks again for helping me out back there.”

“You would have done the same for me,” Gladion says simply. “Have a good night, Moon.” When Moon gets home, her mom is waiting by the door. “How did it go?” she asks. Moon thinks she can detect a note of anxiety in her voice. “It went great!” Moon exclaims. She follows her mom into the kitchen and tells her all about Poipole. Her mom nods along but when Moon pauses for breath she asks, “And you didn't have any problems being there? Was the Pokemon there?” 

Moon isn't sure if there's something in her voice that betrays her or if she has some sort of Mom sense. Moon hesitates, but then she remembers what Gladion said. “I had a sort of...thing when I saw the Pokemon. I just saw it and froze. I was back there when it was happening.” At the look on her mom's face she hurries to add, “It's okay, though. Gladion got me out and calmed me down. He made me feel better.”

The tension leaves her mom's shoulders and Moon feels herself relax as well. Her mom plates up dinner and they head to the table. “Gladion seems to be looking out for you,” her mom remarks. 

“He's a good friend,” Moon answers. She eats in silence for a moment and then speaks. “You know what's weird? I wasn't scared when the attack was happening. I was mostly confused. But now I see the Pokemon and I'm scared.”

“Things probably happened too fast for you to register them,” her mom suggests. Moon nods. She remembers what Gladion said. She'd been scared, but she isn't scared now. If she gets scared again, she'll let her friends and her Pokemon help her. After dinner, Moon goes into her room and checks her email. She has an email from Lillie. “Hi, Moon. I just challenged Misty to a gym battle. I managed to win. I thought I had the edge because I had bellsprout, and I did knock out her first Pokemon. Then her Starmie knocked out bellsprout. I probably shouldn't have used my ace in the hole first. I forgot Starmie was a psychic type and bellsprout is weak against psychic types. Why do you think that is? Luckily, Rattata knows bite, so I knocked out Starmie. It was an exciting match. I've heard the next gym leader is electric. I don't have any Pokemon that have the type advantage. I'm not sure if I should get a Pokemon that has a type advantage or train up mine a bit more.

Gladion cooked for you?! That's so sweet. I can totally see him insulting you and then showing up to help you out. How are you doing? I want you know that if you need to talk, you can always come to me. I just had a thought. You know how you like Gloom? If you got a Gloom, would you evolve it into a Vileplume or a Bellosom? Which do you prefer? I miss you.”

Moon writes her reply. “Congratulations on winning another match! I can't believe I'm missing seeing you battle. I would definitely go for a Vileplume. Its pollen is allergenic to Pokemon and can paralyze humans. Just think of all the fun I'd be able to have. I mean making antidotes and doing experiments, not running around paralyzing people. Unless it was an emergency. 

I don't know why grass would be weak against psychic. There are some type matchups where the weakness makes perfect sense. Like water versus fire, rock and ground versus fire, fire versus ice, grass versus fire, I can understand those. Those obey the laws of nature. Of course water will do well against fire. But then you have psychic pokemon being strong against fighting type. I guess you could say that a psychic could predict the fighting types move. And I guess ghosts are good against psychics because just imagine a psychic being overwhelmed by ghosts and going through a blue screen of death. Fairy types are probably weak against steel because of the folklore that fairies are weak against iron and I think steel. Can't think of theories why they'd be weak against poison. What do you think?”

*  
When Moon goes back to Aether Foundation the next day, she wonders if she is going to have an episode again. Her heart isn't quite pounding, but there's a feeling of apprehensive. Gladion walks beside her. “Tell me something about a Pokemon,” he orders.

“Like what?” Moon asks. 

“Anything you think is interesting? Maybe tell me something about Crobat. You gave me a fact about Zubat, I gave you a fact about Golbat, now you give me a fact about Crobat.” Moon looks at him, amused. “Is that how it's going to be? Okay. Both of Crobats legs become its wings so it can't move well on the ground. It can only crawl. It also has two sets of wings that it can switch between, so it can fly long distances.”

Moon realizes they're in the lab. She looks up and sees the Kartana, and feel nothing. Then when she realizes she feels nothing, a wave of giddiness washes over her. She isn't scared now. She might be scared later, but she isn't scared now. “Thanks,” she tells Gladion. Her heart warms at his smile. Now that Moon doesn't feel paralyzed by fear, she studies Kartana. “Is it able to create wormholes here? Nebby was able create wormholes here, right?”

“It hasn't created any wormholes here,”Gladion says. “The ability to create wormholes may vary between Pokemon.”

Moon nods as she considers his point. “And Nebby had to be subjected to extreme stress. Do you think it's the same thing with Kartana? But then why wouldn't it use a wormhole to escape when Incineroar attacked it?”

“It might have been in shock,” Gladion points out. And the ability to make wormholes might be unstable so they don't do it often.”  
Moon has to admit he makes a good point. She joins others as they read through previous documents about the Ultra Beasts and their world. “Do you think that being in this world affects them? Like it makes them weaker?”

“It didn't make Nebby any weaker,” Gladion points out and Moon has to concede the point. “Do you think human life is sustainable in that world? Lillie and I were fine, but I don't know if there would have been any ill effects if we'd stayed any longer. You know like how in some cases you might not even realize you've been poisoned until it's too late.”

“What a morbid thought. Lusamine survived there.”

“That could be because she was fused with Nihilego.” Moon marks a passage about different Ultra Worlds. “I always thought there was just the world Lillie and I went to. I didn't realize there were others. I'm not sure what else was in that world we went to. I didn't have time to get a closer look.”

“Would you ever go back?” Gladion asks. Moon thinks back to when she and Lillie traveled to that world. She thinks about how it was gray and silent, devoid of life. She thinks about the manic look on Lusamine's face and what she planned to unleash. Moon shudders. “No,” she answers.  
*  
Moon settles into a rhythm after that. She still has nightmares about Kartana, but those are less frequent and can be soothed by cuddling her Pokemon. It's also soothed by the fact that Aether Labs and the Dimensional Research Labs are working on bracelets that can detect Ultra Beasts, so Moon will have advanced warning if one attacks again. Although hopefully next time the Ultra Beast won't be startled and attac. Professor Burnet has kept her word and sent over her research about other dimensions, but Moon is too busy to read it. She spends her days at Aether Labs working with Poipole to find cures for its poison. She's working on examining the effects of other pokemon poisons and if the antidote for one will work on another. 

Gladion passes her a cup of coffee. “Try it,” he orders. Moon rolls her eyes at his tone, but takes the cup. Her eyes widen and she lets out a surprise squeak as she tastes the coffee. It's milky and sweet and has no bitter aftertaste. “It's good,” she tells Gladion.

“Told you salt works,” Gladion says.

“Now I'm going to have to find a tea blend you'll like,” Moon says. “And if I do find one and you do like it, you are not going to pretend to dislike it just to be difficult.” Gladion rolls his eyes. Moon sips at her coffee, the hot liquid bracing her. “I think I'll get in one game of fetch with Silvally and then hit the road,” she says.

Gladion calls out Silvally. “You know Silvally isn't going to be satisfied with just one game,” he warns. Gladion is right. Silvally gives off such forlorn body language when Moon says she has to go that Moon relents and promises one more game. “She means it,” Gladion says sternly to his Pokemon. “Moon can't spend all her time playing fetch with you.” Moon is pretty sure Silvally is pouting. She scratches its head. “Just ignore your trainer. He's so grumpy, isn't he? He's a grumpy baby.” Out of the corner of her eye she sees Gladion ignoring her. Moon hurls the ball. 

“So I've been thinking,” she says. Gladion ignores her. “Seriously, are you mad about me calling you a baby? Anyway, you know how I've been hanging around with Silvally? I think it'd be nice for you to hang out with Incineroar.” 

Silvally returns with the ball. Gladion immediately grabs it and puts it away. “Why you want me to hang out with Incineroar?”

Moon fiddles with her thumbs for a minute. “I've read a few things about Incineroar,” she says. “They need to battle. It's important for them.” She takes a breath. “And I was hoping you could take Incineroar and battle with it?” 

“Why would you need me to battle with Incineroar? Can't you do it?” There's only honest curiosity in his voice. 

“You're a better battler than me. I wouldn't be able to offer Incinceroar the battles it needs.” Gladion doesn't say anything for a minute. Moon occupies herself by scratching Silvally. “Will Incineroar listen to me?” he asks. 

“He'll listen to you,” Moon assures him. “I'll tell him to listen to you.”

“Okay.” Gladion hesitates for a minute. “If you wanted, I could give you a few tips about battling.” Moon's face lights up. “That'd be great! I mean, I know about a few of the Pokemon attacks and type match ups, but in an actual battle-”

“Nothing beats experience,” Gladion says. He seems to think something over. “You know what I like about Pokemon battles?” he asks after a minute.

“No, tell me.”

“I like how everyone is equal in a battle. It doesn't matter who you are; all that matters is that you can battle.” Moon is staring at Gladion. She'll never get over how amazing it is to see Gladion open up, no matter how many times he does it. “That's beautiful.” She's rewarded with Gladion's smile.

*  
Moon meets Gladion at the Battle Royale. “Thanks so much for doing this,” she says. “I already told Incineroar to listen to you.” She pulls out Incineroar's Pokeball and speaks. “Have fun!” She hands the ball to Gladion, rattles off a list of moves Incineroar knows, and moves trying to ignore the weird feeling in her chest. Gladion's trusted you with his Pokemon, Moon reminds herself. It wasn't that she doesn't trust Gladion. It's just that-Moon isn't sure what it is. It's like when she feels under the weather but she can't pinpoint exactly what's wrong with her. Her feelings are forgotten as she sees Gladion take the stage. He and Incineroar battle together flawlessly. Moon can't fully see Gladion's face, but she sees how his body moves. She sees how he moves his arms as he gestures at Incineroar. She watches as Incineroar responds at a split second to Gladion's command. 

Moon can only stare at her first Pokemon. Incineroar moves with a savage grace. Moon has never really understood the words poetry in motion, but she understands as she sees Incineroar move. The crowd cheers and Incineroar is emboldened by the cheers. Moon hears the cheers and sees how Incineroar thrives. The energy of the crowd and the excitement of the battle rushes through her and she finds herself jumping up and down and cheering.

Moon runs to Gladion and Incineroar after their match. She hugs Incineroar. “You were fantastic!” she exclaims. “I'm so proud of you.” Incineroar preens, which is pretty hilarious since Incineroar is five feet and eleven inche. Moon whirls around on Gladion. “And you were amazing as well. I can't believe how well you battled. I don't think I've ever seen you battle before. Well, aside from when you battled me, but it's different watching you battle. Did you have fun? You look like you had fun.”

“It was alright,” Gladion keeps his voice uninterested and slouches, but Moon can see the hidden grin and sparkle in his eyes. “You're such a liar,” she scoffs. “You want to go get something to eat?” Gladion nods and Moon returns Incineroar to his Pokeball. “I really should have taken a video,” she laments. “I can't believe I didn't think of that.”

“You'll get another chance,” Gladion says and Moon looks at him. 

“So you'll battle with Incineroar again?” 

“If you want me to.” Moon nods and then sighs. She can feel the same feeling pressing down on her again, but this time she's able to identify it. Gladion looks at her. “If you don't want me to-” he starts.

“No, no, I do,” Moon hastens to reassure him. “It's just...” she tries to gather her thoughts. “Do you think I'm a bad trainer to Incineroar?” she asks. 

Gladion stops walking. “What makes you say that?” he demands.

“You saw how happy Incineroar was. He loved battling and I haven't been providing that for him.”

“Did you think I was a bad trainer for not knowing Zubat becomes sluggish in the sun?” Gladion asks. 

Moon shakes her head. “Of course not!” 

“Exactly. Sometimes people aren't able to provide everything their Pokemon needs. But you're making sure Incineroar is getting a chance to battle.”

“I just feel like I'm Incineroar's trainer, so I should be doing it. I feel like a bad trainer.” Gladion has resumed walking and Moon scurries to keep up. “How do you think I felt when you treated my Pokemon when I couldn't? But you showed me how to treat them. I said I'd teach you how to battle. Is this place okay?” he asks, pointing to a restaurant up ahead. Moon agrees and they walk over. After they're seated, Gladion gets back on track. “You showed me how to patch up Pokemon; I can repay you by teaching you how to battle.”

“I'd like to point out that I only taught you how to patch up Pokemon because I figured you'd get injured again and would be too stubborn to ask for help. You'd be sitting there with your chest gashed open and someone would be like, “Do you need help?” and you'd say, “I can handle pain.” Moon deepens her voice as she tries to imitate Gladion, but she just ends up coughing. 

“I think a better reason for knowing how to administer first aid is that I might find myself in a situation where I'm away from people and unable to get help.”

“That's a much better point than what I was trying to make.” She sees what she wants on the menu and closes it. “So with treating Pokemon, I was able to tell you how to stitch a wound and what medicines could work. What can you teach me about Pokemon battling?” Did that come across as challenging or arrogant? Moon just meant it in a genuinely curious way, but what if her question came across as insulting?

Luckily Gladion either isn't offended or her question didn't come across as insulting. He thinks over her question. “Like I said before, getting good at Pokemon battling comes down to experience. I can teach you Pokemon moves and type match ups, but it's all about creative application of your Pokemon's abilities. Pokemon battles means thinking on your feet. That's why I like Pokemon battles. You have to respond then and there. There's no room for doubt. There's a kind of clarity in that.”

Moon is silent as she digests all of that. The way he describes Pokemon battling is beautiful and almost makes her want to become a serious trainer. “I was thinking maybe you'd like to invite Professor Kukui over to the lab,” Gladion says. “Or do you think it's better if I go his lab.” Moon is surprised. “Why?” she asks. 

Gladion fiddles with his silverware. “He likes seeing how Pokemon attacks work, right? I thought he might be interested in having Silvally attack him. See how a chimera pokemon attack works.” Moon's eyes light up. She could just see Professor Kukui's reaction. “I'll let him know,” Moon tells Gladion.”

*  
Gladion's words might have assured her, but Moon needs reassurance from Incineroar. Later that night she calls Incineroar from his Pokeball. “Do you think I'm a bad trainer for not battling with you more often?” Incineroar stares at her Moon wonders if she shouldn't have said anything. She begins babbling to fill the silence. “Because Gladion is going to help me with battling techniques. So you and I will be battling in no time. Or Gladion can just battle with you.” Incineroar still isn't moving. Moon wishes he would do something. She hates waiting. Incineroar bends down (Moon has to take a moment to be amused that her Pokemon is bigger than her) and rubs his cheek against hers. She smiles. “So we're stuck with each other, then.” 

*  
Gladion makes good on his offer. After Moon finishes up her research in the labs, Gladion battles her. He's right. Pokemon battling is like thinking on your feet. Moon feels like she's playing dodgeball and the only thing she can think about is dodging a ball or finding a ball to hurl. Moon basically just orders Incineroar to dodge the attacks. She knows what moves Incineroar can do, but in the middle of a battle her mind goes blank. Moon tells herself that she'll get it eventually. 

“You actually managed to land a hit,” Gladion praises. “You're improving.”

“Thanks.”

Gladion pats Silvally on the head as Moon congratulates Incineroar. Gladion and Moon check their Pokemon in companionable silence. Moon isn't thinking about anything in particular when Gladion clears his throat. “Moon?” he asks, and Moon looks up. 

“What's up?” Gladion doesn't say anything, so Moon gives him a chance to gather his thoughts. “Do you know what aura is? He asks suddenly. 

Moon perks up at the unfamiliar word. “No. Tell me.” 

“It's an ability to read minds, track a person as long as they have something belonging to that person, and to sense other auras.” Moon has heard people talk about auras before, but she's never really believed in that sort of thing. Then again, some people do give off good vibes, so there might be a point to this aura thing. 

“It's an ability Riolu is has.” 

This catches Moon's interest. “So you're telling me Riolu can read minds? That's so cool! Can you imagine what an advantage that would be in a fight. Although I guess if you're good at reading body language, you could tell what a Pokemon is going to do.”

“I don't know how good Riolu is at using aura. From what I read, their ability to do that isn't very strong. The book said it can only sense the aura in ripples. I want to work with Riolu on it, but after its last trainer, I don't want to push it.” 

That makes perfect sense. Moon ponders the problem for a minute before turning to Gladion, her eyes bright. “What about playing hide and seek?” she suggests. “Riolu can use its aura to try and find you, and it's a game, so there won't be any pressure.” Moon's face darkens as she remembers how she's heard stories about people screaming at their kids or their Pokemon for playing a game, but she knows Gladion will make sure Riolu knows it's a game and it won't be in trouble if it can't use it.

When Moon turns to leave for the night, Gladion shoves a piece of paper at her. Moon takes it, bewildered. “What's this?” she asks.

“Just-just read it,” Gladion says shortly, and walks off. Puzzled, Moon tucks it into her pocket and climbs on top of Charizard. She decides to read the paper at home, but she isn't sure why. Maybe she just wants to build up her anticipation. Maybe she thinks curiosity is satisfied the best when there's delayed gratification. But she wants until she gets home to take out the piece of paper. It's a letter. Moon begins to read. “Moon, remember when you said to write a letter to get my feelings out when I was having trouble talking to my mom? I told you it helped. It did, so I decided to do it again. I have all these things I want to say to you, but I can't get the words out when I'm with you. I thought writing would help, but I still can't get the words out. I think I'm scared. How ridiculous is that? I'm sitting here staring at a blank piece of paper and I'm scared.

The thing I like about you is that you make me feel safe. You make me feel supported and happy. And I want to make you feel safe, supported and happy. And it's not because I want to pay you back for all the times you did that for me, but it's because I care about you and you're important to me and being friends with you has made me realize that's what people do. They take care of each other. I had more things I wanted to say, but I keep losing track of my thoughts and I'm procrastinating right now. Do you want to go out? On a date, in case that isn't clear.”

Moon can only stare at the letter. She feels as though a door to a magical world as opened up in front of her and she has a choice whether or not to go through. Something blossoms in her chest as she rereads the words about her making Gladion feel safe, happy, and important. She thinks about the closed off boy she met and how she'd wanted to take away his pain. She rereads the words again and again. She feels the same high she does when she successfully treats a Pokemon's injuries.

Then Gladion's last words register. He's asked her out. Moon can't process anything for a minute. Then the joy starts trickling in. It's like when someone is injured and their body can't feel any pain because of adrenaline but this is better because Moon isn't injured and she's just been asked out. “Mom!” she screams, launching off her bed and racing down the hallway. “Mom!” 

Her mom races to her side. “What's wrong? Are you hurt?” 

“No, no, I'm fine. But you won't believe it! Gladion asked me out! Like on a date!” Moon is bouncing in place.

“He asked you out today at Aether Foundation?” her mom asks.

“No-he wrote me a letter. He said-” Moon breaks off. Gladion might not want her to tell anyone about the contents of his letter. “He asked if I wanted to go out with him.”

Her mom breaks into a huge smile. “That's wonderful news! I'm so happy for you.” 

“So am I!” Moon chirps. “I have to go tell Erika.” Moon dances back down the hallway. She grabs her phone and calls Erika on video chat. Erika should be finished with gym challengers for the day. A few seconds go by and Erika's face fills the screen. “Moon? What's up? You never video call. Is everything okay?” 

“Everything's fine.” Moon tries to answer casually, but she bursts into giggles and gives up any pretense about appearing cool. “I've been asked out!”

Erika squeals. “I don't believe it. Who asked you out? When did he do it?Is he cute? What's he like?”

“Gladion asked me out. Did I mention him? He's my friend Lillie's brother, and he's my friend as well. He's cute. He's...” Moon tries to think of the best way to describe Gladion. She thinks of the times she'd encountered him on her journey when they were nothing more than strangers and what she thought of him then and what she thinks of him now after spending most of her time with him. The perfect way to describe him settles into her mind like a key fitting into a lock. “He's caring,” Moon says. “He's so, so caring. He cares about his family, and he cares about his Pokemon, and he cares about making the world a better place. And he cares about me.” Moon's voice softens as she says this. She knows that Gladion cares about her, but hearing him say it and saying it out loud-it makes something tender and sweet grow in Moon's heart.

Erika sighs. “I'm so happy for you. How did he ask you out?”

“He wrote me a letter.” Moon thinks about what Gladion wrote in his letter and the giggles bubble up.

“That's so romantic.” Erika suddenly groans and face palms. 

“What's wrong?” Moon asks.

“You're going on your first date and I'm not there to pick out an outfit with you or have a sleepover so I can find out the juicy details. You suck so much for leaving me.”

Moon laughs. “Once I find out where we're going I'll video call you again so you can help me pick out an outfit.”

Erika nods, pacified. “And you'll call me the minute you get back from the date? I mean it. The second you get back, you call. I don't care what I'm doing.”  
“What if you're asleep?” Moon can't resist teasing Erika. She lets out a huff of impatience. “Then keep calling. Sooner or later I'm bound to wake up.”

“What if you're in the middle of a gym battle? You can't stop a battle so you can gossip.”

“Incentive to finish the match faster.” Moon laughs and hangs up.

*  
The excitement of being asked out had worn off later in the night, but when she gets to Aether Foundation and sees Gladion, it rockets back up. She runs towards him, feeling her smile stretch across her face. Gladion looks nervous. He isn't making eye contact and his shoulders are hunched. Now that Moon is in front of him, she feels like how she did at school when she was sure she knew the answer and when the teacher called on her she'd freeze. The words she had vanished.

Gladion doesn't say anything. Is he waiting for her to make the first move? Moon gathers up her courage. “I'll go out with you,” she says. A relieved smile breaks out across Gladion's face.

“Great.” He hesitates and rubs the back of his neck. “I was thinking we could go to Malie Gardens and walk around. The place has a teahouse, so we could get something to eat. Or we could go into the city and get something to eat.”

Moon doesn't say anything for a minute. “Or we could do something else. It's up to you,” Gladion says. Moon groans internally as she realizes she hasn't responded. “No, Malie Gardens sounds perfect.” 

“Okay. Do you want to go out tomorrow? I can meet you at the gardens.” Moon agrees and she can practically see the weight lifted off his shoulders. She has a date. She has her first date tomorrow. Suddenly Moon doesn't want to work. She just wants to go home and talk to Erika about this and-

“Do you mind if I tell Lillie?” Moon asks suddenly.

“Tell Lillie what?”

“About you asking me out. Do you mind if I tell her? Do you think she'll be upset that you asked me out? Is it against a sibling code for you guys to ask each other's friends out?” 

“I don't mind if you tell Lillie.” Gladion rolls his eyes. “In fact she'll probably be thrilled I asked you out. She's been bugging me to make a move for a while.” Moon's jaw drops as indignation fills her. Her voice comes out in a squeak. “You mean Lillie knew you liked me? And she didn't say anything? Hold on. I have to email your sister and then you can show me what we're working on today.” 

“I'll meet you in the lab,” Gladion says, and Moon hums in acknowledgment as she types out a message to Lillie. Emailing from her phone is a gigantic pain. 

“Hi, Lillie. Gladion just asked me out. I'm sure you'll be happy about that since you've been wanting him to ask me out. He says you knew he liked me. And you didn't tell me? Aren't friends supposed to tell each other these things?”

Then Moon remembers that Gladion might have asked Lillie to keep it a secret. In that case, Lillie's not telling her anything made sense. “But Gladion is your brother so you can't go spilling his secrets. You are being a very loyal sister. Gladion wrote me a letter and asked me out. He says I make him feel safe and happy and important. Did you know he felt that way about me? I didn't know he liked me. Am I just slow on the uptake? I feel pretty stupid. I've been hanging out with Gladion for months and I didn't realize. I'm going to go to lab stuff. My date with him is tomorrow. We're going to Malie Gardens.”

Moon meets up with Gladion in the lab. She thinks she won't be able to concentrate, but she's pleasantly surprised when she falls into the rhythm of the work easily enough. Gladion doesn't mention the date and Moon figures he wants to focus on the work as well. Or he's nervous. Poipole seems to be making progress at understanding human speech. One of the researchers shares a fascinating theory about how pure poison type pokemon's venom might be more potent than a secondary poison pokemon's venom. Moon longs to test that theory, but she knows it will be at least a year before anyone lets her use herself as a test subject. Still, they have an enjoyable time swapping theories and Moon is almost sorry to go.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” Gladion says to Moon and she smiles. When she gets home she sees Lillie has emailed her. Her eyebrows raise in surprise. Lillie's emails are sporadic since she's traveling and can't always get signal. Moon opens up the email quickly. Fear shoots through her. What if Gladion's wrong?What if Lillie isn't happy that Gladion asked her out? 

Moon opens the email before she can make herself worry anymore. “Of course I knew that Gladion liked you. I'm his sister. We know these things. He didn't tell me he liked you. I figured that out on my own. He's emotionally intimate with you. He tells you things. He wants you to tell him things. I'm really happy for the two of you. Let me know how the date goes. I'm taking a little break for the next few days (I lost to Surge) so I should be able to respond to you more quickly.”

Relief fills Moon at Lillie's approval. She writes quick email thanking Lillie and asking how her Pokemon are doing before calling Erika. “We're going to Malie Gardens,” she announces without preamble. 

“Great. You don't have to dress overly fancy then. But still dress cute. Let me see what we're working with.” Moon opens her closet and for the next twenty minutes Erika scans her clothes. It probably would have taken longer if Moon hadn't flat out refused to model the clothes for Erika. 

They settle on a green sundress that has a fitted waist and flares out and always makes Moon feel extra feminine. Tomorrow I'll have my first date, Moon thinks. She goes back and forth between excitement and nervousness.

*  
Moon's mom had insisted on taking pictures of her before her date. Moon pretends to be annoyed, but she knows her mom isn't fooled. As the Charizard drops her off at Malie City, Moon begins to wish that the ride had been shorter. It suddenly dawns on her that she has a date. She has a date. She's never been on a date. What is she supposed to do? This is Gladion, Moon says to herself. You know Gladion. He's your friend. 

Gladion is waiting for her outside the garden. “You-you look pretty.” He's barely making eye contact. “Do you want to walk around a bit? Or are you hungry.” 

“No, walking around is fine.” They go into the gardens. Gladion keeps glancing at Moon and glancing away, and she can see him doing the same thing. She can understand first date jitters, but that shouldn't apply when you actually knew the person. “I don't know what to do!” Gladion burst out. His fists are clenched. 

“What do you mean?”

“This!” Gladion gestures vaguely. “I don't know what to do on a date.” 

“Neither do I,” Moon admits. “Why don't we pretend we're not on a date.” Gladion fixes her with a dry look. “I'm not that good at pretending.” Moon ignores that. 

“Let's pretend that this is a regular day and you didn't ask me out. Tell me something you would have told me if you didn't ask me out and we were just doing our usual thing.” 

Gladion hesitates and then speaks. “Do you ever think about how people discovered Pokemon evolution?”

“Not really. Do you?”

“I was just thinking about it last night. Can you imagine someone giving pokemon a leaf stone and seeing it evolve for the first time?” Moon imagines a trainer giving their Pokemon a pretty stone to play with and the Pokemon evolving. She thinks about how people figured out which evolutionary stones worked on which Pokemon. An image of someone touching any Pokemon they found with an evolutionary stone until they saw which one evolved with it.

“Or what about Pokemon where you have to do something completely nonsensical to get them to evolve?” Gladion asks. 

“Those are just happy accidents. A lot of good things happen because of someone just fooling around and improvising.”

Gladion says, “Can you imagine what everyone's reactions would have been the first time Magikarp evolves into Gyrados?” Moon pictures it and chokes on a laugh. She would pay money to see how that went down. “I read that the energy from evolution messes with Gyrados's brain and that's why it's so angry,” Moon tells Gladion.

“I thought it was angry because of all times it was mistreated,” Gladion answers. Moon feels like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. “Do you think they'll find any more evolutions for Evee? We already have a water one, a fire one, an electric one, a grass one, a fairy one, a psychic one, a dark one, and an ice one.”

“We might. For all we know someone could give an Evee a dragon scale and it can evolve into a dragon type Pokemon.”

“Or an Evee could get buried in ceremonial dirt and become a ground type. Or maybe they'll discover a magic rock. That'll probably be it. Most of Evee's evolutions are because of rocks. We might discover a rock that can make it evolve into a flying type.” 

Gladion speculates with her about what dragon type Evee evolutions might look like. It's funny how acting like they weren't on a date has made them relax. It's like when someone comes into a room for observation and they say to pretend that they aren't there. But that never works. There's always a constant awareness of their presence, although once people get into the swing of things they become less focused on the observer. 

“I'm having a nice time,” Moon tells Gladion. Gladion's face softens for a minute before he smiles shyly. “I'm glad. I'm having a nice time as well.” They continue walking and Gladion reaches out and grabs her hand. It feels right. Gladion's hand is warm and strong. The topic switches to Kanto. “You guys are so lucky to have Ride Pokemon,” Moon complains. 

“I forgot you don't have ride Pokemon in Kanto. How do trainers get around then?”

“Boring ways that aren't as exciting as traveling on a Charizard or being carried by a Machoke.”

“Do you think Kanto would start training Pokemon to carry passengers?” Gladion asks, and Moon thinks of the logistics. “Maybe. Hey, someone might have already suggested it. I'll have to ask Erika. Gladion doesn't say anything for a moment. Moon is relieved to see that the silence doesn't have the awkward tensions it did on the beginning of the date. Gladion takes a deep breath. “Can I kiss you?” he asks suddenly, and Moon freezes. She's going to get her first kiss. Her heart begins to thud. Her mouth goes dry, so she nods. Gladion leans in. Moon isn't sure if he's actually moving slowly or if her mind is slowing down how fast he's moving. Gladion leans forward and their noses crash together, which quite ruins the mood.

Moon giggles nervously. “Sorry,” she squeaks. Gladion chuckles and grabs her face in his hands. He angles it so that this time their noses won't crash into each other and kisses her. He kisses her gently, carefully, like he's afraid to. There's something so endearing about his hesitancy. Moon wants to be closer to him. Should she press herself closer?What did people do in movies? Where was she supposed to put her hands? She should kiss back or at least touch Gladion. Moon rests her hands on his shoulders. She's read about people deepening kisses. How do people deepen kisses? Gladion pulls back. “Was that okay?” he asks.

“I'm sorry I'm not a good kisser. I've never been kissed before,” Moon blurts out. But Gladion smiles. “I've never been kissed either,” he confesses. “But we can learn how to kiss together. Think of it as a Pokemon move. You and your Pokemon don't stop practicing a move after you do it once.” Moon smiles at this and resolves to look up tips on how to kiss when she gets back home. Then she remembers that those tips might not be accurate, so she resolves to call Erika. Gladion reaches for her hand again.   
*  
When Moon gets home, she sees that her mom has waited up for her. “How did the date go?” she asks. 

“It went really well. I'll tell you all about it later. I think Erika will kill me if I deprive her of the juicy details for one second.” Her mom chuckles knowingly. Moon goes to her room and dials Erika. “How did it go?” Erika demands. “Don't skip out on any of the details.

Moon settles into her bed. “Well, I got there and I was kind of nervous, you know? I've never been on a date before. So we get there and we're just walking around in the gardens and I'm trying to figure out what to say and Gladion is just looking at me before finally bursting out that he can't do this. Not going to lie, I was having trouble figuring out what to do on a date. So then I was like, “Okay, talk to me like we're just hanging out and not on a date,” so he began to talk to me about stuff and we got back on track.”

“I'm glad things went well. Lots of dates start out awkward until there's an ice breaker.”

“But I already know Gladion. I thought it would be easy to go on a date with him.”

“Even people who know each other stumble when they start dating or moving in together. So the date got back on track? What else did you guys do?” 

“We just walked around the gardens and went to get tea. And he kissed me.” Moon drops that last part in casually. She snickers as she sees Erika's eyes widen. “That should have been the first thing you told me!” she scolds. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Moon says with false contrition. “Do you want to know how the kiss went?”

“Of course I want to know how the kiss went? Did he use tongue? Is he a good kisser? What kind of kisser is he?” 

“A careful kisser. But a sweet one. I think since it was our first time it was a bit awkward, you know?”

Erika nods sagely. “Sure. You're still figuring each other out. Are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend now?” Moon hesitates. Are they? They've gone on a date, but that doesn't automatically make them boyfriend and girlfriend, does it?”

“You should clarify,” Erika advises. “Avoid any misunderstandings right off the bat. Do you want to be his girlfriend?”

“I don't know how to be a girlfriend.”

“First of all, that doesn't answer my question. Second of all, you can figure it out. So, do you?” Moon nods and Erika claps her hands. 

*  
Moon can't decide what to feel when she sees Gladion the next day. Did he enjoy the date? Was he lying when he said he did? Does he want to kiss her again? He said they could practice kissing together, so probably? Gladion doesn't run up to her and sweep her into his arms. Granted, Moon didn't really expect that. He stands a little off to the side as Moon dismounts from the Charizard. Before Gladion can say anything, Moon blurts out, “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

Gladion looks taken aback. Then he nods slowly. 

“That was easy,” Moon says. “Since you chose the last place for a date, why don't I choose the place for our next date.” She smiles at the adorable look on Gladion's face at the mention of a next date. Then he clears his throat. “I have a surprise for you. We managed to unfreeze the other Type:Nulls. They're in the lab.” Moon follows Gladion. Her heart is in her throat. She can't think. Then the thoughts begin flooding in. What if she isn't a good trainer to Type:Null? What if she can't give it what it needs?

Gladion grabs her hand. “Take a deep breath,” he orders. “It's going to be fine. Silvally and I will be right here.” Moon is reassured. They step into a lab and she's handed a Pokeball. Moon feels like she's hovering in a doorway and she has to decide whether or not she wants to go through. She thinks back to the beginning, when she first arrived in Alola and how she was nervous about going on a journey. She thinks about how she's formed relationships with people and her Pokemon. Gladion was right when he said one of the best parts being a Pokemon trainer is getting to know your Pokemon and having them getting to know you. That's one of the best parts of being human-getting to know each other. So with one squeeze of Gladion's hand, Moon tosses the Pokeball and speaks gently to the Pokemon that appears. “Hi, Null. My name is Moon.” 

Type: Null doesn't move. Moon steps forward. “I'm going to be your friend,” she tells it softly. It would be a long journey, but Moon thinks, glancing at Gladion, it would be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the end of my first lonashipping fic. It ran way longer than I thought it would. I had no idea it would be 50k+ words. I hope you guys enjoyed the story.


End file.
